Eastern Province rugby clubs have unanimously endorsed a deal which will see a business consortium own a 74% stake in the Isuzu Southern Kings.
The R45m buyout bid was concluded on December 12, but was only ratified by clubs when the EPRU held its annual meeting on Saturday.
In a new move the Kings PRO14 team will be run by a board consisting of four consortium, two EPRU members and three independent directors.
“It is all go now and the deal has been done,” EP Rugby president Andre Rademan said.
“We could not survive without an equity partner and a sponsor. This was a game changer for EP rugby and it has made the future look a lot brighter.
“We must now dissolve the old board by the end of March and constitute a new board who will make decisions. We will be like any other union in the country.
“The new board will have full control and there will be an agenda on the way forward.”
It is expected that the cash injection will breathe new life into a region that has battled to keep its head above water in the Guinness PRO14, Currie Cup, SuperSport Rugby Challenge and junior levels.
There were a series of all-day meetings at EP Rugby headquarters in December where Rademan and consortium chair Loyiso Dotwana addressed stakeholders about the bid.
The other members of the consortium are businessmen Gary Markson, Rory Stear and Kenny Govender and businesswoman Vuyo Zitumane.
Stear attended the annual meeting, but did not address clubs.
“The consortium deal was already signed on December 12 after lengthy negotiations that took place over a few months,” Rademan said.
“Where the union was involved with the consortium, everything was very transparent involving all stakeholders. After the negotiations were concluded some changes made and everyone was on the same page when we signed the deal.
“We still had to take it to the annual meeting, which we did on Saturday and the decision was endorsed. It was unanimous and there was not a single vote against it.
“Now we are heading for a new dawn for EP rugby. Since our new executive took over 22 months ago we are slowly getting matters right. We got our bank balance right and we got out of liquidation and administration.
“Now we are on course for a bright future for EP rugby. The consortium and EP are on a very good footing at this stage and we know this is a joint thing. One must bear in mind that the EPRU is a member of SA Rugby and 74 per cent of the shares were sold off to the consortium and the union have 26 per cent of the shares.”
It has been decided that the PRO14 coaching staff will be involved in the preparation of the SuperSport Challenge and the Currie Cup teams.
“We had to win the financial battle and that was the biggest war to fight. Now that is done we must start winning on the field.
“We have already sat down with the consortium and one of the things we decided is that the PRO14 coaching stall will part of the EP Elephants structures.
“EP will also make use of their players and will give them game time, which put us in a better position than last season. We will try to make the SuperSport Series final and do better in the Currie Cup and aim for promotion to the Premier Division.
“We will also contract players and to look at our own talent group who will blend in with the PRO14 players.
“EP will also tap into club players, because that is where our talent lies. There is a lot of talent out there and if you bring them in and give them the right conditioning there might be a Springbok among them.”