News Ltd Sells North Queensland Cowboys
28th August 2007
News Ltd announced today that it had sold the North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Club to the Cowboys Leagues Club for an undisclosed sum. Company secretary and Cowboys board member Peter Jourdain said News had taken over the Cowboys in 2001 to ensure it survived through a turbulent and difficult era. "From the outset, News Limited's intention was to help the club grow until it was in a position to stand on its own two feet," he said. "That day has arrived." Mr Jourdain said the Cowboys Leagues Club is well placed to take the club forward and realise its potential. North Queensland Cowboys chief executive officer Peter Parr said with the sale now complete, the Cowboys had an exciting future as a community-based club under the ownership of the Cowboys Leagues Club. "We look forward to continuing the positive results of recent years and ensuring that the Cowboys remain in a strong position, both on and off the field for many years to come," he said. The Cowboys Leagues Club was formed in 1994 but ceased to operate between 1999 and 2001, when it reopened in a new, state-of-the-art premises in Townsville. It has traded successfully since then. The Cowboys football club has been been largely successful in the past few years reaching the finals in three of the past four seasons. Mr Peter Jourdain now has resigned his position on the Cowboys board of directors. News, retains its interest in both the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm.