The All Blacks and the Six Nations tempted by the charms of investment funds: if this kind of marriage can allow rugby, weakened by the health and economic crisis, to obtain a breath of financial oxygen, it is not without long term risk.
After having already done it in the English rugby championship and the Pro14, the former Celtic league, CVC Capital Partners is in the process of integrating the shareholders of the Tournament.
The negotiations, which began almost eighteen months ago and then slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic, have made good progress.
On Saturday, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) approved the draft agreement which could be sealed within a few weeks.
What does this project foresee?
CVC, a former F1 financier, would buy 14.3% of the shares of "New Co", a subsidiary created by Six Nations Rugby Limited, the commercial arm of the Six Nations and which would be responsible for selling the broadcasting rights for the Tournament and fall tests.
The Luxembourg-based group would offer in exchange 305 million pounds (343 million EUR) to the Tournament Federations (English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian and French), with in addition a reserve of 60 million pounds (67.4 million euros) conditioned by results.
The New Zealand Federation, for its part, is also seeking to raise funds.
Discussions, started in May, are underway with the American investment fund Silver Lake, already present in the capital of the Manchester City football club, according to New Zealand media.
The New Zealand Herald has reported an interest of the Californian entity to acquire 15% of the commercial and image rights of the All Blacks.
The totality of these rights is estimated at 2 billion dollars (1.65 billion euros) according to the newspaper.
"When it comes to an investment where the fund will remain a minority in the capital, the risk is more limited," said Didier Primault, economist at the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) at AFP. Limoges.
"Where the risk can become major is when the private shareholder will take a share that will allow him at a time to be decisive in a certain number of choices," he adds.
With the support of an investment fund, will the triple world champions have to play more matches per year?
"Those who manage the All Blacks are smart enough not to let clauses like that in a contract for 15% of their rights," said Didier Primault.
But, "if the economic interests are too strong, you inevitably go towards things like that", he continues, with potentially "disastrous effects" on the national championships.
Regarding the draft agreement with CVC, the president of the FFR, Bernard Laporte, assured that "the Federations would at the same time keep their exclusive power to regulate sports practice and to organize competitions".
If, in France, matches should continue to be broadcast unencrypted, in the United Kingdom, on the other hand, they would partly pass into the bosom of pay broadcasters.
This was already the case for the Autumn Nations Cup, broadcast by Amazon.
"It will be even more difficult to resist the pressure of the paying agent if you have a pension fund which is well established and takes on a great importance in the device, it is obvious", underlines Didier Primault.
Lionel Maltese, a sports management teacher and lecturer at Aix-Marseille University, shares his “doubts” about the strategy of these funds with AFP.
“The room for negotiation on TV rights is low.
In rugby, when you have catchment areas that are not covered such as Germany, the United States or Asia, apart from Japan, it's complicated, ”he points out.
“We will arrive at a threshold effect in terms of TV rights.
Rather, it is the mastery of infrastructure and the use of data on fans that will drive rugby forward.
But rugby is light years away from that, ”he said.
