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Sports Entertainment Group (ASX: SEG) has finalised its staged sale of the Perth Wildcats basketball team to major shareholder Mark Arena’s MT Arena Capital Investment for a total of $39.5 million.
The sale process, which began in August 2024 when Sports Entertainment Group sold its majority 52.5 per cent stake to Arena’s private investment company, now gives the tech entrepreneur full control of all the shares in Perth Wildcats Basketball Pty Ltd.
The Melbourne-based Sports Entertainment announced in May 2024 that Arena, a Perth-based cybersecurity entrepreneur and long-time fan of his local National Basketball League (NBL) team, had forwarded a takeover offer for the Perth Wildcats for a total of $40 million.
The first tranche of the deal was finalised on 14 August 2024, with Sports Entertainment transferring a 52.5 per cent interest in the team for about $21 million, with the second tranche comprising 16.9 per cent for $6.5 million completed on 3 November 2025.
After announcing an accelerated settlement plan in September last year, which would have seen the acquisition completed by the end of FY26, the company today announced that Arena has finalised the final tranches of the buyout representing the remaining 30.6 per cent stake in Perth Wildcats for $12 million.
“Owning and growing the famous Perth Wildcats has been the biggest honour in our business’ 20-year history,” says Sports Entertainment Group’s CEO Craig Hutchison.
“This team is so loved and supported and such a huge part of the Western Australian community and broader Australian sports landscape.”
The Perth Wildcats is the most successful team in the 47-year history of the NBL, securing a record 10 championships with the most recent in the 2020 season.
The team debuted in the NBL in 1982 as the Westate Wildcats before rebranding as Perth Wildcats in 1984.
“We’d like to thank NBL owner Larry Kestleman for his vision and stewardship of the NBL, and the incredibly passionate Wildcat fans for their commitment and support,” says Hutchison.
“Thanks also to our staff, all sponsors, and broader stakeholders who’ve made the journey so enjoyable and rewarding.
“While we exit as owners, we remain Wildcat fans as a business and wish Mark Arena every success in the pursuit of an 11th championship.”
Sports Entertainment Group, which also owns the Melbourne Mavericks Super Netball team and the Bendigo Spirit Women’s National Basketball League team as well as New Zealand’s Otago Nuggets and Southern Hoiho, says the sale of Perth Wildcats demonstrates its ability to generate “significant equity value” for shareholders.
The group is reviewing its capital management options follow the sale, noting that it is “uniquely positioned in the Australian market through its integrated sports media, events, experiences and brand-building capabilities that connect brands with fans in a highly engaged, passion-driven environment”.
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