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NEW OWNER FOR WILDCATS
Mark Arena is the new majority owner of NBL's Perth Wildcats after he completed his $21 million payment
Craig O'Donoghue - The West Australian
August 14, 2024
WA businessman Mark Arena is now the majority owner of the Perth Wildcats after making the first massive payment of the club’s sale on Wednesday morning.
Arena purchased 52.5 per cent of the club for $21 million from Craig Hutchison’s Sports Entertainment Group, making the payment more than two months earlier than the agreed deadline. He will provide another payment of $15million in 2026 to receive an extra 37.5 per cent and can then buy the entire club in 2028.
SEG made the announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange this morning.
Arena is a cybersecurity entrepreneur, built his fortune overseas and then returned to Perth when the city opened up after COVID. He had until October 30 to make the payment but wasted little time completing the deal.
SEG bought the Wildcats from Jack Bendat for about $8.5million in 2021. A group of investors bought a small share in the club last year as part of their overall package with SEN Teams.
That purchase included part ownership of the WNBL’s Bendigo Spirit, netball’s Melbourne Mavericks and two New Zealand basketball teams. Arena’s purchase only relates to the Wildcats.
Arena has wasted little time getting integrated in the Wildcats community. He attended the recent Basketball WA Hall of Fame ceremony where he mixed with greats such as Ricky Grace.
The Wildcats have big plans for the upcoming season which will start with HoopsFest being held in Perth. That event will see all NBL and WNBL playing in WA during September.
The club is also preparing to travel to Japan for three pre-season games as part of a plan to make their mark on the global stage.
While the club didn’t achieve championship success on the court after SEG bought the licence and their famed finals streak came to an end, they had two players drafted to the NBA. Luke Travers joined Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022 and then Alex Sarr was chosen by Washington Wizards as the second pick in this year’s draft.
Arena will be looking to capitalise on those moves while also focusing on giving the team the best chance to win another championship.
