Warren Goddard, one of four men who has signed an agreement to take up a licensing agreement with the Highlanders, said the group wanted to grow the franchise and he dismissed any suggestion of a conflict of interest.
Goddard is joined by Ticket Direct founder and chief executive Matthew Davey, Nelson car dealer and Tasman rugby president Shane Drummond and Sydney-based digital marketer Raymond Burke.
Goddard, who said he had worked in and around rugby for the past 25 years, said Davey had approached him to try to keep the Highlanders in the South after Singaporean interests had shown interest in buying into the franchise.
Goddard said he talked to Burke and Drummond and the four of them hatched a proposal and took it to New Zealand Rugby.
After some negotiations, NZR accepted the deal and it was announced last Friday.
Davey fronted the decision and is the main shareholder in the consortium but the other three are fully committed to the venture, Goddard said.
''First, we see it as a bit of fun. Like some people buy racehorses, we have bought a rugby team,'' he said.
''But we are not stupid. We're not going to be throwing money around. But we love how we have been treated down there, love the people in the organisation and they have some really good people in their organisation.
''They've got the best stadium in the country, the best team in the country. We can give them a bit of security now.''
Goddard rejected accusations of a conflict of interest.
He worked for the Crusaders on commercial matters but said he had been doing that for years and had never struck any problems.
He also worked for other rugby sides.
''They Crusaders are happy, the Highlanders are happy, New Zealand Rugby is happy. They all do not believe there is a conflict of interest ... I've worked for 25 years in rugby and never had a conflict of interest.''
He was not employed by the Crusaders, he said, but simply acted as a consultant.
Goddard was involved in the introduction of the Highlanders' green jersey in 2011 but questioned what relevance the jersey, and its introduction, had to the ownership of the franchise in 2015.
Drummond is the father of Crusaders and Canterbury halfback Mitch Drummond.
He was involved in the Nelson Bays union, and then helped set up the Tasman union.
He is now president of the union and will end that role next March.
Drummond sees the Highlanders investment as a business decision and it is a chance to get involved in professional rugby.
He is passionate about rugby, and Tasman has links to the Highlanders, with many players turning out for both teams.
When the Highlanders played the Crusaders he said he would be emotionally supporting one team and financially supporting another.
Burke could not be contacted yesterday.
He is the chairman of the Out & About Marketing Media company which sells digital advertising platforms.
It owns the hardware which surrounds many grounds in New Zealand, carrying advertising.
