Larry Kestelman, the man responsible for reinvigorating Australian men’s National Basketball League over the last decade, is looking to replicate that success in the women’s game after taking a significant stake in the WNBL.
Kestelman is part of a consortium fronted by Wollemi Capital Group, the family office of Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, that has been successful in negotiations with Basketball Australia to take ownership of the WNBL in a deal said to be worth around A$18m (€11.2m/$12m).
Wollemi Capital will acquire 49 per cent of the WNBL and Kestelman’s NBL will take a 29-per-cent stake, with the remaining 22 per cent continuing to be held by Basketball Australia. Under the terms of the agreement, the NBL would operate the WNBL, beginning April 2025.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Kestelman has a five-year option to buy out Basketball Australia’s remaining stake.
A term sheet has been signed which provides up to 60 days to finalise the proposed arrangement and allows any conditions to be met.
Wollemi and the NBL are understood to have seen off competition from Dorry Kordahi, the former co-owner of the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks, and venture capital firm Crest Sport and Entertainment, which owns part of the Hawks and is one of the largest investors in basketball’s East Asia Super League.
Basketball Australia has been holding talks with a number of the country’s richest business executives in recent months as it sought to privatise the WNBL.
The national governing body worked with Alacria Global, the strategic management consultancy of which ex-Football Australia National Rugby League chief executive David Gallop is chairman, on the privatisation process, which has been run by Eaglehawk Capital.
Those reported to have also held talks with Alacria throughout the process included: Adelaide Lightning WNBL team owner Ross Pelligra; Southside Flyers team owner Gerry Ryan, founder of Jayco Australia, the recreation vehicle manufacturer; Craig Hutchison, owner of Sports Entertainment Group, which is close to securing the licence for the Perth Lynx team; and International funds Sixth Street Partners, co-founder of the US women’s football franchise Bay FC, and Bluestone Equity Partners, the private equity fund founded by former IMG executive Bobby Sharma.
While basketball is the third-largest team-based women’s sport in terms of participation in Australia and the WNBL is producing some of the country’s best female players, it has struggled commercially, which has restricted much-needed investment into the league.
Indeed, the WNBL only generated media rights revenue for the first time in its most recent two-year domestic rights deals with Nine and ESPN that expired at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The involvement therefore of Kestelman represents a good omen for the WNBL.
Kestelman bought 51 per cent of the NBL in 2015 for A$7m, and now owns 94 per cent. He has overseen a significant revamp in the league since his initial investment, with one major initiative being the ‘Next Stars Programme’, under which the league directly contracts rising US college stars, bringing them to Australia for development, including training and game experience.
This has contributed to resurgent interest from fans and commercial partners, with the NBL’s most recent completed domestic rights cycle, for 2021-22 to 2023-24 season, achieving a record valuation in deals with broadcasters ESPN and Foxtel, and publisher News Corp Australia. The league had never previously earned a significant cash fee for its domestic rights, with prior agreements with ESPN and public-service broadcaster SBS only earning the league shares of advertising revenue.
Last month, a new domestic deal was agreed with ESPN and commercial broadcaster Network Ten from the 2024-25 season, under which for the first time in a decade, NBL games will be shown on a main free-to-air channel in high definition. This will be the 2.30pm Sunday game.
Kestelman said today (Thursday): “[We] now have an opportunity to rethink what the best version of the WNBL can look like, and set the direction for the future as we did for the NBL. We believe this is a truly exciting proposition for us, the players, the fans, and everyone involved.
“The female athletes in the sport, as well as younger girls aspiring for greatness, deserve better and we believe we can, with time, deliver something to be proud of, but do not underestimate the work and challenges ahead.”
Denholm added: “Women’s Basketball in Australia has a phenomenal history and an even brighter future; we are excited to be a major part of the syndicate that will guide the future direction as well as provide the right level of support and investment needed in the sport for decades to come. There is much work to be done to transform the league into a platform that our amazing female players, clubs, fans and all involved richly deserve.”