Western Province Rugby Football Union president Zelt Marais is in talks to secure a deal that will see the majority stakes in the union being sold.
On Thursday, Marais proposed the deal – which involves 90 percent stake in property and 74 percent in equity being sold – to clubs.
This despite having rejected other deals that would have seen WP Rugby part with a much smaller stake.
Marais’ latest move comes while the Saru-recommended Staytus deal is still on the table.
Marais is opposed to the agreement to make Staytus the union’s new benefactor, even though it would include a settlement arrangement with Flyt.
For Flyt to return the union’s title deeds and stop all damages claims, they want repayment of the R113m – plus interest thereon – and a compulsory dividend of R32m after 42 months.
OL Sport reported on the potential conflict of interest with Philip Burns, who serves as a board member and on the StratCo, and how he, through his company Freeworld Capital Holdings, put a proposal on the table to acquire a stake in the union’s assets.
When asked whether Burns is involved in the current transaction that was proposed to clubs, Marais did not provide an answer.
The proposal by Burns dates back to 2019 and, since then, Marais has walked away from or rejected a number of deals including Investec, MVM, Flyt and now Staytus and another equity deal.
IOL Sport approached Marais for comment on what the legal implications are of negotiating with other partners while the Staytus deal is unresolved. Marais did not respond to this or the question of why he failed to disclose to clubs who he is in communication with for the deal.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the remaining independent directors of the board of Western Province Professional Rugby announced their resignation after “increased hostility” from the president.
Wynona Louw | [email protected]