Prem Rugby Welcomes Black Knight rugby to Exeter

PREM Rugby is delighted to welcome Black Knight Rugby to the league after they successfully completed a takeover of Exeter Chiefs. 

A new subsidiary of Cannae Holdings, Inc., Black Knight Rugby, has purchased 100% of the shares of Exeter Rugby Group Ltd following a vote by Exeter’s members to permit the sale of the club.

Under Black Knight, Tony Rowe will continue as CEO of the club to maintain continuity. 

In the last 12 months Red Bull have completed a takeover of Newcastle and British entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has invested in Bath Rugby.   

Simon Massie-Taylor, CEO of PREM Rugby, said: “We are delighted to welcome Black Knight Rugby to the Gallagher PREM as our first American club investors in the competition.   

“As proven owners in Premier League football with Bournemouth and in the NHL with Vegas Golden Knights, Black Knight understand elite sport and what it takes to build a high-performance environment on and off the pitch. Their arrival is another powerful signal of where English rugby and PREM Rugby is heading. 

“Exeter Chiefs are one of the great success stories of our game and Tony Rowe deserves enormous credit for everything he has built at Sandy Park and the legacy that he has created. 

“To win two PREM titles and a European Cup is an extraordinary achievement. Tony’s vision, commitment and passion for the club and the wider game have been central to everything Exeter have achieved and we are pleased to see that he will continue to play an important role at the club. 

“Outside of football the Gallagher PREM is the biggest sports league in the UK with a collective economy of £260 million, 450 professional players, nine million fans and a cumulative TV audience of more than 10 million.  

“The Gallagher PREM is also the most competitive top-flight rugby competition in the world with six different champions in seven years and it remains one of the last major European sports properties still in its value creation phase. 

“We have a clear plan, a growing fanbase, world-class players and the foundations to match our ambitions. 

“New PREM investors like Black Knight Rugby at Exeter, Sir James Dyson at Bath and Red Bull at Newcastle are not just backing a club, they are backing a vision for the PREM. And that vision is to be The Best League in the World.”