It has been announced that Premiership Rugby has agreed a sale of 27 per cent of its shares to a private equity firm for £200million.
Premiership Rugby has agreed to sell a reported 27 per cent of its shares to CVC Capital Partners in return for a fee believed to be in the region of £200million.
In September, the 12 Premiership clubs voted to reject a proposal from the private equity firm to take control of 51 per cent of the shares for around £275m.
But three months later, a deal has been struck between all parties - one that was unanimously accepted by the clubs.
CVC have previously been involved in MotoGP and Formula One, and Premiership Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty believes the new partnership will elevate the competition to a greater standing on the global stage.
"We're happy that CVC's track record speaks for itself," he said. "They were in MotoGP for eight years and only came out of that because of the requirements for moving into Formula One. They were in Formula One for the best part of 10 years.
"They are expecting to be in this for the long term and they understand what's required to invest and build.