The Western Province Rugby Union has confirmed that negotiations with American investment consortium MVM Holdings are going ahead following a positive meeting between the parties on Friday.

Earlier in the week, reports started circulating that the proposed deal between the union and the business consortium, run by South African-born Marco Masotti, looks set to fall through because of a breakdown in negotiations.

A meeting between all the shareholders was scheduled for Friday and on Saturday night, WP announced via a statement that it has agreed to continue to negotiate the proposed deal that has been under discussion for the past four months.

Western Province Professional Rugby chairman Ebrahim Rasool and WPRFU president Zelt Marais met with Masotti and Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation’s sports department and a member of the consortium.

‘We had a very productive meeting of the minds and cleared up all the misunderstandings we had before,’ Marais said. ‘WPRFU agreed a negotiations framework with MVM that is based on mutual respect and appreciation.

‘We are pursuing an investment partner that will help us strengthen Western Province Rugby and make it the leading global brand that retains and attracts the best talent.’

On his part, Masotti commented: ‘The outcome of last night’s meeting was very positive, and we are happy to be continuing our negotiations.

‘We are confident that we can reach an amicable deal that serves the best interests of all parties – including the players, the fans, the clubs and the broader community.

‘Most importantly, we are working towards a true partnership with the WPRFU so we can leverage our investment and our expertise to further develop a fantastic global brand. Furthermore, we wish to retract everything that was communicated through the media over the last four months.’

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