Tech entrepreneur Mark Arena has signed a $40 million deal to purchase the Perth Wildcats from Craig Hutchison’s ASX-listed Sports Entertainment Group.
Tech entrepreneur Mark Arena has signed a $40 million deal to buy the Perth Wildcats from Craig Hutchison’s ASX-listed Sports Entertainment Group.
Through investment vehicle MT Arena Capital Investment, Mr Arena will buy a 52.5 per cent stake in the Wildcats this summer for $21 million, ahead of the 2024-25 National Basketball League season.
He plans to increase his shareholding to a 90 per cent stake by June 2026, and 100 per cent in 2028.
The deal has an enterprise value of $40 million.
In a statement, Mr Arena said he was motivated to return the team into local hands.
“I absolutely love this team and I see huge potential for both basketball and for the City of Perth with the return of local ownership,” he said.
"I believe the Western Australian basketball community can make an even greater impact on a global stage, and that’s good news for everyone.”
SEG purchased the Perth Wildcats from the late Jack Bendat for $8.5 million in 2021.
Mr Arena said he hoped to instill the franchise with a management that listened to its fans and delivered an experience like that of the NBL’s heyday in the 1990s.
"I want to hear from the players, Wildcats staff, the league, corporate partners, fans and a range of stakeholders that stand to benefit from, and are invested in, a strong Perth Wildcats team,” he said.
"While keeping an open mind, I feel strongly that we’ll be a club that will be ‘WA first’ in our intent.
"The Perth Wildcats is one of the strongest teams in the NBL. The previous owners – most recently Jack Bendat and SEG – built a strong community following and then further exposure via the SEG network.
"I intend to bring my technology and business growth skills to the table to deliver an unprecedented experience for both fans and our sponsors and to reinvigorate the authentic basketball culture that I first fell in love with in the nineties."
Mr Arena was advised by Rhys Lenarduzzi, a Sydney-based corporate adviser at Prime Financial Group, who was previously a professional rugby player and sports agent, along with KPMG and London-based Onside Law, which previously employed Mr Lenarduzzi as a consultant.
The Perth Wildcats issued a statement saying it was "encouraged by the process" but that it would be taking a business-as-usual approach until a deal was fully finalised.
The first stage of the deal is conditional on some unspecified group restructuring at MTACI being completed.
News of Mr Arena’s interest in the Wildcats emerged at the end of May, when he made a non-binding offer for the franchise.
The entrepreneur is a graduate of Edith Cowan University, who moved to Europe and started a US-based cybercrime business called Intel 471.
He recently returned to Perth, after buying a $6.2 million six-bedroom home in 2021.
