Tuesday 11 September 2018 17:38, UK
The owners of the Gallagher Premiership clubs have decided against accepting CVC Capital Partners' £275m takeover bid as agreeing to majority control investment is not their preferred option.
CVC, who owned Formula 1 before selling to Liberty Media last year, made the offer in return for 51% of English club rugby's top division.
The owners of the Premiership clubs make up the board of Premier Rugby Limited - the current owners of the competition - which has been seeking new investment for the past year.
While they have opted against relinquishing a controlling stake in the competition, PRL is still investigating opportunities to sell a minority percentage.
The owners of the 12 Premiership clubs, plus London Irish, met at a West London hotel on Tuesday to discuss the offer from CVC. It is understood that other investment opportunities were also discussed at the meeting.
A statement from the Premiership said: "We had a very positive board discussion and considered a range of alternatives to accelerate investment in the club game.
"The board was unanimous on how to proceed and agreed that selling a majority stake was not the preferred option.
"We shall now develop these options further with our advisers and the interested parties ahead of the next board meeting."
PRL rules state that all 13 owners must unanimously agree to any deal that involves the sale of more than 25% of the Premiership.
Sky Sports News understands most Premiership clubs were in favour of accepting CVC's offer, although some felt it undervalued the competition.
