Merger crises to be resolved

Reports overnight that a billionaire businessmen is looking to buy a half stake in the St George Illawarra NRL club.

Fairfax mastheads suggested Bruce Gordon, owner of the WIN Corporation, would repay a debt of 6 to 7 million dollars to the NRL as part of his holding.

Elsewhere, the Wests Tigers structure appears to have changed, with the Wests Group now said to have moved to a 75% stake in the club, and Balmain's share downsized to 25%, although they would need to raise $2.7 million capital to acquire that portion over five years.

NRL figurehead Tony Crawford will oversee the announcement of both restructures as the governing body looks to offload operations of both clubs.