Exeter Chiefs enter US ownership as Black Knight takeover is completed

Exeter Chiefs are now under the control of Cannae Holdings' Black Knight Rugby after the takeover of the Premiership club was completed. The deal also covers Exeter's women's team and follows approval from the club's members.

The transaction is reported to be worth roughly £25m, though that figure remains approximate. Black Knight's arrival is significant because it makes the group the first US-based owner to take charge of a top-tier English rugby club.

Tony Rowe will stay on as chief executive and is set to sit on a new three-person executive board with Bill Foley and Ryan Caswell. The new owners already have interests in other sports properties, including football investments connected to Lorient and Auckland FC.

The timing matters for Premiership rugby, which is moving toward a franchise-style structure without traditional promotion and relegation. For Exeter, a club that rose from the second tier to become two-time Premiership champions and European champions in 2020, the question is how outside capital changes both ambition and identity at Sandy Park.