New Zealand Rugby has finally agreed terms for its much-craved cash injection, shaking hands with the players union to sell a minority stake to private equity firm Silver Lake.
The New Zealand Rugby (NZR) board announced the deal on Thursday morning, which will see the American firm invest an initial $NZ200 million ($A186 million) to own 5.71 per cent of NZR's commercial arms.
The deal comes after months of tense debate, with players blocking previous efforts for private ownership of the All Blacks brand, which has always been wholly publicly owned.
The players union (NZRPA) opposed a deal announced last April which would see Silver Lake take a 12.5 per cent stake for $NZ387.5 million ($A360 million), instead proposing a five per cent public offering.
Under the new agreement, NZR insists it will retain "full control" of its rugby and commercial strategies, with Silver Lake to stay a minority investor.
NZR chairman Stewart Mitchell said the funding "marks the beginning of a transformational phase for the entire game" in New Zealand.
"The journey to get here hasn't been easy at times," Mitchell said.
"There was healthy debate and some adjustments by all parties, but always with the good of the game at the heart of this process ... we are proud of where we have landed with this partnership."
Silver Lake owns over $US90 billion ($A125 billion) in worldwide combined assets, including many sporting brands.
It has a stake in the New York Knicks basketball team, New York Rangers ice hockey team, English Premier League colossus Manchester City and its parent company City Football Group, and more recently A-Leagues operator the APL.
It took a 33 per cent share in the A-Leagues last December in a deal worth an estimated $A140 million to Australian football.
The NZR deal is not yet final with NZ's provincial unions and the Maori rugby board still needing to agree.
Talks at Rugby House in Wellington with the unions continued on Thursday, where chief executive Mark Robinson trumpeted the virtues of the investment.
"There are wins in this proposal right across the game for everyone," Robinson said.
"It means we can invest in all areas of the game (but) it's not going to change overnight. It's not going to mean a lolly scramble effect for the entire game immediately."
The talks between NZR and NZRPA have also yielded a new collective agreement, details of which are yet to be shared.
NZR will restructure its operations to make the deal viable, consolidating all of its revenue-generating assets into a new commercial entity that Silver Lake will then invest in.
Silver Lake's share has the potential to grow to 8.58 per cent with another $NZ100 million ($A93 million) investment.
The investment effectively values NZR at $NZ3.5 billion ($A3.25 billion).
NZR, NZRPA and Silver Lake will also create an international rugby investment vehicle called "Global Rugby Opportunities" as part of the deal.
