Warriors sale to be concluded swiftly, as ARL chairman tells clubs it's better to 'cut our losses and move on'

The Warriors ownership saga will be concluded by the end of this month – and could be finalized even swifter than that.

While the previous sale of the club dragged on for more than six months, there appears to be no chance of that time line being emulated again.

Negotiations are ongoing between Autex Industries and representatives of the Carlaw Heritage Trust, and it's understood they are close to an agreement on a price for the 67 per cent stake in the club owned by CHT.

Once that figure is agreed, only the final legal paper work will remain, before the shareholding is transferred.

The prospect of a counter offer, with the CHT buying out minority shareholder Autex (33 per cent), is now no longer on the table.

Former Warriors chairman Cameron McGregor was the key driver of that initiative, wanting to keep the club in the hands of the CHT and by default the local game.

But he was removed by the Auckland Rugby League board as CHT chairman last week, which means he no longer sits on their board.

That has effectively sidelined him from the current process, and the Herald on Sunday understands that the rest of the CHT board favour selling the club to Autex.

McGregor is appealing his removal, but it's unknown how long that process may take.

It will be heard by the New Zealand Rugby League, though no date has been set.

"They have received it and they are looking at it at the moment," said McGregor.

The ARL position is also unchanged from the board meeting at the start of this month, when they passed a resolution favouring a sale.

ARL chairman Shane Price was unable to be contacted this week, and didn't respond to messages from the Herald on Sunday.

However, his position was clearly stated at a meeting with the Auckland clubs on 5th September.

During that meeting Price said there were three deciding factors that favoured selling the Warriors.

The first was the current shareholding agreement, with Autex having equal voting rights despite being a minority shareholder.

The second was what was described as a "fractured and dysfunctional" Warriors board and the third was the financial position of the NRL club.

Although the CHT (and by default the ARL) will likely lose money on the sale, Price told the meeting it was better to "cut our losses and move on".

The final chapter could be at a Special General Meeting of all Auckland clubs, which has been called for Friday 20th September.

At the meeting the clubs are likely to be asked to vote on their final position.

It's understood that of the 30 Auckland clubs, a significant majority favour selling the shareholding to Autex, with a smaller bloc preferring to look at other options.

Overall there are still concerns about the lack of information around the process, and the current financial state of the Warriors.

"We are all in the dark," said one Auckland club chairman.

However, CHT won't act against the wishes of the clubs – who are its sole beneficiaries – which means a sale seems certain.