Bath lead resistance against Premiership takeover bid with clubs poised to reject new deal

Bath are ready to block the deal due to owner Bruce Craig’s reluctance to give up his share of control

CVC Capital Partners has mounted a £275m takeover approach for Premiership Rugby (Getty)

CVC Capital Partners are set to fail in their initial takeover attempt of Premiership Rugby as a number of clubs are ready to reject the offer at Tuesday’s extraordinary meeting.

The 12 Premiership clubs, plus Championship side London Irish, make up the shareholders of Premiership Rugby Limited and will be presented at tomorrow’s board meeting with a £275m offer for slightly more than 50 per cent of the business from CVC, the former owners of Formula One.

The offer is favoured by many among the top flight as it will bring a welcome injection of financial support, writing off the large debt that certain clubs have accrued in the Premiership.

But with a unanimous decision required to accept the offer, The Independent understands that Bath are ready to block the deal due to owner Bruce Craig’s reluctance to give up his share of control for what he feels is a valuation below Premiership Rugby’s true worth. CVC’s offer rates the Premiership at a value of around £550m, but should the current trajectory continue, the league could be worth more than £1bn within the next decade.

Bath will not be swayed in their say, despite Saracens owner Nigel Wray maintaining hope of talking them into the deal as he would favour cashing in on his investment in order to build new stands at Allianz Park, with Harlequins in a similar boat. Wray recently lost the South African contingent that co-owned the reigning Premiership champions with him, leaving the long-time owner to buy back full control of the club last season.

However, it’s understood that Bath may not be the only ones who vote against the deal, with both Bristol Bears and Exeter Chiefs also understood to be on the fence.

With rejection a near-certainty, CVC are likely to face a decision over making an improved offer closer to what Craig believes is a reasonable sum in return of relinquishing control over the league, or abandon their plans completely. The private equity firm has approximately $105bn in secured commitments, and last year sold F1 to Liberty Media for $8bn, a huge increase on the $2bn that they bought it for in 2006.