Ospreys owners Y11 have told players and staff they are not merging with or being sold to English Championship side Ealing Trailfinders.
The Welsh region has not officialy commented on the links, but Y11 Sport and Media chief operating officer Nick Angio has written a memo to the Ospreys to deny the claims, the BBC reports.
WalesOnline first reported last month that second-tier Ealing had held talks about potentially joining the Welsh Rugby Union and merging or replacing one of the four current regions under a radical proposal that had been discussed at a high level. Since then, the Ospreys were named by other media outlets as the team involved in the proposal. While Angio says a merger or sale will not be happening, he said Y11 holds talks with a number of clubs, governing bodies and other interested parties as they are in the business of investing in rugby and continue "to develop a strategy of multi-club ownership".
The Asia-based sports marketing group, who hold a 75.1% shareholding in the Ospreys, already have a 25% stake in New Zealand Super Rugby side the Hurricanes. They would be unable to hold a 50% stake in two sides under rugby rules.
The Ospreys director wrote in his memo: "There have been some national headlines in relation to there being a deal for the Ospreys to be sold or merged and any other combination imaginable. These headlines have been persistent to the point where we felt like it'd be important to confirm to you that they are incorrect.
"For further context, Y11 Sport & Media are in the business of investing in rugby and continues to develop a strategy of multi-club ownership and developing a commercial ecosystem that will benefit all clubs within the group of clubs. As a result, the company discusses with professional clubs across all major rugby competitions as well as governing bodies and other interested parties."
He said the Ospreys had not made a public comment on the links due to a media policy it adopts of not commenting on speculation.
Angio said: "We're all well aware of the rumours flying around about the Ospreys in the midst of this rather challenging period for professional Welsh rugby. The constant media speculation makes it difficult to be an Osprey at this moment, especially within the vacuum of reliable information.
"The Ospreys' board of directors has a policy the club does not confirm or deny any media speculation. Constantly, there are rumours about the Ospreys just like there are about the other professional clubs in Wales.
"If the club were to publicly deny media speculation from time to time, then silence from the club on any topic would be interpreted as a confirmation of such speculation."
It comes after Ospreys flanker Sam Cross revealed that players at the Welsh region had been told their side was among a number of teams to have been approached by the Trailfinders.
"What we have been told is that Ealing approached a number of clubs and the Ospreys were one of the clubs they approached," the 30-year-old told BBC Scrum V. "But as for anything being agreed, we have been told there's no substance behind that. There's obviously a lot of people's livelihoods at stake, not just players. It would be devastating."
Ealing won the English Championship last year but were denied promotion to the England Premiership because their west London ground is not big enough, and despite being top of their league again this season they will still not be eligible for promotion.
An RFU spokesperson told Telegraph Sport: "Any request would need to be carefully considered, and would need approval of the RFU Board, and as a cross-border competition involving a club from another union, it would also need the approval of other unions involved."
As for the short-term future of Welsh rugby, Angio said: "The club is continuing a difficult and drawn out negotiation process with the WRU to ensure a new agreement puts the club in the best position possible for the future.
"The difficult financial situation of the professional rugby ecosystem does mean that even in the best case scenarios we will be facing a few difficult years. The next year in particular will be very challenging and the club will need to develop new commercial opportunities while maintaining strict controls on costs.
"Once we have a new agreement with the WRU, we'll then be in a position to prepare budgets for next season and make more forthcoming decisions than we've been able to this current season. We also have new exciting local and international projects to further strengthen the Ospreys commercial and elite performance for the future."
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