Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has reached a settlement in its dispute with New Zealand Rugby over a £27m sponsorship deal due to run until 2027.
NZR, which is responsible for the All Blacks and Black Ferns, sued Ineos in February after the chemicals giant had stopped making payments in order to “exit our six-year agreement”.
Ratcliffe’s company said it was looking to adjust the terms of the deal as part of a wider cost-cutting strategy that also saw it end a partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, announce hundreds of redundancies at Manchester United, where it is a co-owner, and pull its funding of Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team.
“New Zealand Rugby and Ineos can confirm that a settlement has been reached between the two parties,” they said in a joint statement.
“Whilst the details remain confidential, both organisations are satisfied with the outcome and acknowledge a desire to now move forward.”
Ineos declined to comment on whether the relationship had now ended, but the company is no longer listed on New Zealand Rugby’s portfolio of partners.
The company’s arrangement with New Zealand Rugby was one of several sporting tie-ups Ratcliffe embarked on as he sought to amass a collection of teams.
Ineos row a big problem for New Zealand Rugby
It still sponsors the Ineos Grenadiers road cycling team, is a one-third shareholder in Mercedes F1 and owns stakes in football clubs Nice and Lausanne.
In February, Ineos blamed its retreat from sponsorship deals on “the deindustrialisation of Europe”.
“Trading conditions for our European businesses have been severely impacted by high energy costs and extreme carbon taxes, along with much of the chemicals industry in Europe, which is struggling or shutting down,” it said.
“As a result, we have had to implement cost-saving measures across the business. We sought to reach a sensible agreement with the All Blacks to adjust our sponsorship in light of these challenges.
“Unfortunately, rather than working towards a managed solution, New Zealand Rugby have chosen to pursue legal action against their sponsor.”
Ineos appeared on All Blacks training shirts as part of its deal, although French construction group Altrad remains the team’s main sponsor.
A premature end to the Ineos partnership would leave New Zealand Rugby with “a major problem” Steve Martin of MSQ Sport + Entertainment told City AM. “They’d need to go to market while rugby is struggling.”