The sale of the Storm, which was rocked in 2010 by salary cap breaches, was foreseen by some observers as News Limited - Rupert Murdoch’s Australian operation - focuses on its core media business.
A statement from the club said said it had been acquired by Holding M.S. Australia Pty Limited, a consortium of businessmen brought together by New Zealand-born sports entrepreneur Bart Campbell.
The statement added that Campbell would become the club chairman, and former Saracens player and ex-Harlequins boss Mark Evans the new chief executive
The announcement came after the club’s a disappointing 10-10 draw against Manly Sea Eagles on Monday.
Since entering the NRL premiership in 1998, Melbourne Storm have only been owned by News Limited. The club has been successful on the field, winning the 2012 premiership.
But in 2010 Melbourne were stripped of two premierships, and were forced to offload some of their best players after being found guilty of major salary cap breaches.
The crackdown came after National Rugby League uncovered a five-year, A$1.7 million (B32.1 million) cheating of the salary cap, which places a limit on how much players can be paid so that richer clubs cannot simply out-bid other teams.