Melbourne Storm are locked into negotiations with three groups of bidders which could make them one of the most valuable sport franchises in Australia.
The NRL giants have attracted global interest with one consortium from Hong Kong lining up a bid.
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They are believed to be a hedge-fund firm who are looking to capitalise on the NRL’s new $5.3 billion TV rights deal.
But it could take an offer worth up to $160 million for Storm owners to consider selling.
A potential takeover could see a consortium purchase an 80 per cent stake in Storm.
That would mean total control of the club, despite chairman Matt Trip’s determination to remain in his role if there is an ownership change.
“We are in negotiations with a number of parties in acquiring a stake in the Storm,” he said.
“There is no world in which we would sell out of the Storm completely.
“We have maintained for some time we have been looking for the right strategic partner to help us drive the club forward.
“There are several parties left we’re speaking to. They are all really well credentialed and would all add enormous value. We will either choose to partner with one of them or we will continue on with our current shareholder structure.
“Nothing will change within the club. No one wants to exit from the existing shareholding group.
“A few years ago we took on three new investors and this time we are looking at taking on one more.
“We don’t know who that will be and we don’t know how big the stake will be.”
Storm’s estimated value could rise to $200m following the takeover, which would rival the likes of Collingwood and Brisbane Broncos as Australia’s biggest franchise.
But a sale could prove tricky with five co-owners, including Tripp, Bart Campbell, Tom Carroll, Gerry Ryan and Brett Ralph.
And any change to Storm’s ownership model could take four months to finalise.
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