U.S. Consortium Buys Majority Stake in South African Rugby Team

The Sharks and Cheetahs battle at Jonsson Kings Park in Durban, South Africa on Nov. 6, 2020. Photographer: Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images

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By Derek Alberts

January 7, 2021 at 5:22 PM UTC

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New York-based MVM Holdings LLC became the first U.S. company to invest in South African rugby when it took a majority stake in The Sharks franchise.

MVM, an investment consortium headed by lawyer Marco Masotti, entered into an agreement to purchase 51% of The Sharks, based in the Indian Ocean city of Durban, the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union said in a statement on its website on Thursday. The union and Supersport International will retain the remaining 49%, according to the statement, which didn’t give details on the terms of the deal.