Black Knight Rugby completes Exeter Chiefs takeover

Black Knight Rugby has completed its takeover of Exeter Rugby Group, giving the Cannae Holdings-backed vehicle full ownership of Exeter Chiefs after the club’s members approved the sale. Tony Rowe remains chief executive, while the new board includes Bill Foley, Ryan Caswell and Rowe himself. The deal is the first time an American-led consortium has taken control of a top-flight English rugby union club.

Black Knight Rugby has purchased 100% of Exeter Rugby Group Ltd. The transaction carries an enterprise value of £32.6 million, with £19.6 million invested at closing, £11.7 million used to pay down debt and liabilities, and the balance allocated to growth capital and general corporate purposes. The deal also ends Rowe’s 25-year financial support of the club, including the period after the pandemic when the business took on roughly £25 million of debt.

The takeover lands as Premiership Rugby continues wider structural change, including plans to expand from 10 to 12 teams by 2029 and remove automatic promotion and relegation. Exeter had already secured member approval for the sale in May, leaving the club to enter the next phase of English rugby’s club model under new ownership but with the existing chief executive staying in place