WP Rugby commits to continuing negotiations with investor

The Western Province Rugby Union has confirmed that negotiations with American investment consortium MVM Holdings are going ahead following a positive meeting between the parties on Friday.

Earlier reports circulated that the proposed deal looked set to fall through however a meeting between all the shareholders was scheduled for Friday and on Saturday night with WP announcing via a statement that it has agreed to continue to negotiate the proposed deal that has been under discussion for the past four months.

The statement read

"On Friday, 13 November 2020, the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) met with American investment consortium, MVM Holdings, to continue to negotiate a proposed deal that has been under discussion for the past four months.

 
New Chairman of Western Province Professional Rugby, Ebrahim Rasool, and Zelt Marais, WPRFU President, met with Marco Masotti, head of MVM consortium and Michael Yormark, President of Roc Nation and a member of the consortium.

Marais said, "We had a very productive meeting of the minds and cleared up all the misunderstandings we had before. WPRFU agreed a negotiations framework with MVM that is based on mutual respect and appreciation. We are pursuing an investment partner that will help us to strengthen Western Province Rugby and make it the leading global brand that retains and attracts the best talent."

 
Masotti said, "The outcome of last night’s meeting was very positive, and we are happy to be continuing our negotiations. We are confident that we can reach an amicable deal that serves the best interest of all parties – including the players, the fans, the clubs and the broader community. Most importantly, we are working towards a true partnership with the WPRFU so we can leverage our investment and our expertise to further develop a fantastic global brand. Furthermore, we wish to retract everything that was communicated through the media over the last four months."