Stuff is reporting that New Zealand business magnate Mark Dunphy has served legal letters on America’s Cup holders Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and its boss Grant Dalton.

Dunphy emerged in September with an offer to raise the necessary funds to keep the next America’s Cup in New Zealand — months after the Auld Mug’s holders rejected the NZ government’s €58m offer to host their defence in Auckland.

Prospective bids from around the world have since been entertained, among them Abu Dhabi and Cork Harbour.

The team reportedly ruled out further dealings with Dunphy — who heads the Kiwi Home Defence campaign — after accusing him of “underhanded and deceitful attempts to undermine” the team and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the Auckland yacht club that hosted the 36th America’s Cup earlier this year.

Now lawyers for the chief executive of Greymouth Petroleum have sent legal letters to the ETNZ and Dalton “requesting certain inaccurate statements be corrected and that apologies be given”.

In response, ETNZ has described the letters as “an attempted act of intimidation”. Stuff has much more on the story HERE.