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A takeover of Exeter Chiefs by the owners of Premier League AFC Bournemouth has been approved by the Prem rugby club.
Members and shareholders voted in favour of a bid by Cannae Holdings’ Black Knight Sports and Entertainment at a special general meeting on Thursday night.
If the takeover goes through, the American investors will purchase all shares in the Devon club.
Black Knight is currently carrying out a due diligence process which will not be completed before the end of May.
The group also have stakes in French club FC Lorient as well as owning Auckland FC.
“This does not represent a firm offer,” Exeter chairman and chief executive Tony Rowe said in a statement.
“It is just a non-binding expression of interest at this stage but, hopefully, an offer will follow and we can begin negotiating the terms of the sale.”
Should the deal be completed, it would be the first time foreign football owners have invested in an English top-flight rugby team.
They are the latest new investors in the domestic game after Newcastle were bought up by energy drink giant Red Bull in August, while billionaire industrialist Sir James Dyson became co-owner of Bath in March after sinking significant new capital into the champions.
It is the second lot of American investment in the sport in as many days after Exeter’s South West neighbours Cornish Pirates – who play in the second-tier Champ – announced new funding from the United States.
It comes as the Prem does away with promotion and relegation in favour of a franchise-type model with the league aiming to expand back to 12 teams.
ShutterstockA completed takeover would end Rowe’s decades-long stint at the helm of the two-time Premiership and 2020 European champions.
Under his guidance, the Chiefs have progressed from the fourth tier of English club rugby to the top flight and moved to their current Sandy Park home in 2006.
The stadium has since undergone a number of developments with plans to expand it to a capacity beyond 20,000 also in the pipeline.
Rowe, who made his fortune in telecommunications, sponsored much of the club’s rise and development as he incorporated conferencing and events into the club’s business portfolio at Sandy Park.
The club reached six consecutive Premiership finals from 2016 as well as winning a maiden European crown as the club attracted internationals such as Geoff Parling and Nic White to a side that also had homegrown stars including Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Slade.
But since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Exeter have struggled financially. Rowe bought a hotel on the Sandy Park site in December 2022 to help pay off some of the Chiefs’ pandemic-related debts while the club saw much of their international talent leave between 2022 and 2024 as they cut the wage bill.
Last season the club finished ninth in the 10-team Prem, but after a number of coaching changes and investment in players such as Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper, Andrea Zambonin and Stephen Varney, are challenging for a play-off place this season.
Exeter members and fans will hope the new investment can help re-establish the club as one of English rugby’s major domestic forces.
