New Zealand Rugby's landmark deal with US private equity firm Silver Lake has been cleared, with a clear majority voting in favour of the agreement to sell a stake in the game's commercial rights.
The deal has been in the works for close to two years, and faced many hurdles, before Thursday's vote saw 89 side in its favour, with just one against.
At a meeting of New Zealand's 26 provincial unions in Auckland, the deal that gives Silver Lake a stake between 5.7 and 8.6 percent in NZ Rugby's commercial rights has gone through, bringing with it a cash injection of $200m.
New Zealand Rugby chairman Stewart Mitchell hailed the deal as a "monumental moment" in the game's history, and future.
"This is a major milestone for our game," said NZR chief executive Mark Robinson.
"The entire rugby community is united in support of the Silver Lake partnership and all that we can now achieve together. The hard work starts now as we work together with our members, our players and Silver Lake to make the most of this extraordinary opportunity over the coming months and years."
Silver Lake will invest $200m into the game, through a new commercial entity - named CommercialCo - to remain under the control of New Zealand Rugby.
CommercialCo will in-turn control the game's revenue-gathering assets, valued at $3.5 billion.
An additional co-investment of up to $100m will also be offered to NZ-based investors, later in 2022.
Of the $200m injection, $37m will go towards short-term investments in the game. Of that $20m will be afforded to New Zealand's provincial unions - $14m to the provincial game, and $6m to the Heartland Unions.
A further $2m will also go to New Zealand's Māori Rugby Board. Community clubs within New Zealand will receive $7.5m, while $5m has been granted to the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association.
