Watson sells Warriors to Carlaw Heritage Trust, Autex

Watson sells Warriors to Carlaw Heritage Trust, Autex, no price disclosed

By Jonathan Underhill

May 2 (BusinessDesk) - Carlaw Heritage Trust and Autex Industries have acquired the Vodafone Warriors from businessman Eric Watson after months of speculation about a sale of the NRL club.

No price was disclosed, although the NZ Herald reported it was understood to be less than $18 million.

According to a report posted on the warriors.kiwi website, Watson said the ownership change was in the best interests of the club.

“The decision to sell was not an easy one and although I will always be a passionate supporter of the club, I believe the time is right to hand the club over to a new owner," he said in the statement.

The change of ownership will see the departure of executive chair Jim Doyle and all directors apart from executive Cameron George.

Autex is a private company that makes acoustic products, insulation and carpets and was "a pioneering sponsor of New Zealand’s national rugby league team in the late 1970s and 1980s," the Warriors statement said.

It has existing ties with the club, was recently a jersey sponsor of the Kiwis and is the naming sponsor of ‘Autex House’, a residential Auckland property providing home-away-from-home accommodation and life skills to some of the Vodafone Warriors’ most promising young players, according to the statement.

Carlaw Heritage Trust was established in its current form in 2009 and independently holds the financial assets of Auckland Rugby League.

(BusinessDesk)

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