Six Nations confirm 'forward thinking' CVC talks
The Six Nations confirmed on Tuesday it was holding talks with a private equity firm to buy shares in the competition.
CVC Capital Partners, which formerly owned a controlling stake in Formula One, has already purchased parts of the English Premiership and the Pro14 domestic leagues.
"Over the past year, Six Nations has been involved in exclusive negotiations with CVC Capital Partners. These negotiations have been very constructive and forward thinking," a Six Nations statement said.
"An agreement is not to be expected imminently and it would be inaccurate to present it as a formality."
"There is no set timeline for completion of this process, and any agreement, if it were to go ahead, would not be accelerated due to any potential challenge presented by the current external environment," it added.
French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte said the fund had decreased its original offer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Roughly, originally it was going to be 374 million euros to take 14 percent. Afterwards there will be a redistribution internally, there will be a pooling of resources, and another part on TV rights, registered players," he told AFP.
"For France it was 80 million euros ($90.36 million). Now it will be between 70-80 million euros. It's not nothing."
"After COVID-19 they re-negotiated, a little bit lower but not enormous. We should have an answer in under two months," he added.
This year's tournament was put on hold in March due to the virus outbreak with all sides having at least one game to play.
Reports in French media claim the remaining fixtures will be played in October.