Sports Entertainment Group (ASX:SEG) announced on Thursday it has received a non-binding offer to buy Western Australian basketball team the Perth Wildcats.
SEG currently owns a 95% stake in the company, a proprietary limited entity, and that stake is on the radar of a company called MT Arena Capital Investment (MTACI).
West Australian business and tech industry figure Mark Arena is tied up with MTACI, and SEG noted on Thursday Arena has been a lifelong fan of the Perth Wildcats.
True to the game of basketball where you can’t carry a ball for too long, companies are treating Perth Wildcats itself as a ball.
This would be the second sale of the Perth Wildcats in three years.
The profile Mark Arena carries with him is likely part of the interest in SEG’s Thursday announcement.
Arena developed a company called Intel 471 which became the interest of private equity firm Thoma Bravo in the early 2020’s, after that firm decided it wanted a cut of Intel on its plate.
Under the offer, MTACI would stage its path towards a 90% acquisition – all of SEG’s interest – over two years “with a put and call option for the balance.”
MTACI sees the 90% interest ultimately worth $40M with $21m paid no later than 30 October 2024 and another $15m no later than 30 June 2026. A 10% put and call option makes up the other $4M.
But that was about all investors got to gleam from SEG’s Thursday news. The sport regulator NBL will also need to approve the deal.
“Neither SEG or MTACI will be making any further comments at this stage. SEG will keep the market informed in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations,” the company wrote on Thursday.
SEG last traded at 23cps.