The Six Nations have cooled speculation that a bumper payday is around the corner for its competing nations.
Earlier this week, French rugby chief Bernard Laporte said a deal with investment company CVC, that could see a reported £300 million pumped into the tournament, was close to being agreed.
But the claim has been refuted by tournament organisers, who admitted they were in complex talks with CVC, but were adamant that a deal is not imminent.
"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," said a statement.
"Negotiations of this nature are complex. They can take significant time and at this point, are still ongoing. 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."
Competing Unions will be keen to see the deal completed as swiftly as possible, including the Welsh Rugby Union, who stand to lose £50 million this year if no international rugby is played due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The French and English are both reported to be in line to pick up at least £65 million as part of the deal, with the Celtic Unions and Italy getting less due to inferior television audience.
