Ospreys owners Y11 Media & Sport have announced in a joint decision with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) that they are withdrawing their bid to buy Cardiff Rugby.

Y11 entered into an exclusivity period with the WRU in January 2026, which ended in March but was extended by 30 days.

That extension ended on April 22nd, with a joint statement confirming that the takeover had fallen through.

“The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and Y11 Sport & Media have jointly agreed that Y11 withdraw from the bid process for the proposed purchase of Cardiff Rugby due to constructive discussions, with Ospreys expected to sign the 2025 Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA25) shortly,” read the statement.

There are no details about why the negotiations broke down, with the WRU only confirming that Cardiff would remain under the Union’s ownership for the time being.

Cardiff went into administration in April 2025, and were taken over by WRU under threat of extinction.

The Union stated upon taking over the capital region that they intend to seek new investors and were able to get the potential bidders down to two in early 2026.

The other consortium bidding involved former Cardiff director Martyn Ryan as part of a group that includes USA-based television and film producers.

The WRU says Cardiff will remain under its ownership until it makes “commercial and strategic sense to revisit this decision”.

In the statement, they also confirm that the WRU Board decided in February that Ospreys and Scarlets would be given a second opportunity to sign the 2025 Professional Rugby Agreement, to “bring them in line with Dragons RFC and Cardiff Rugby.”

The Union say that this will “provide stability and clarity to Welsh rugby’s top tier as the WRU defines the steps to implement its ‘Way Forward’ strategy to reduce the number of professional clubs in Wales from four to three by the end of the 2027/28 season.”

After Scarlets and Ospreys failed to sign the PRA25 last year, they have been thought to be the two regions most under threat as the Union plans to cut the number of professional clubs from four to three.

This comes a year after the WRU took the offer off the table with Scarlets entering into a legal battle with the Union over their takeover of Cardiff. There is no mention of that ongoing action in the statement.

The PRA25 runs until 2030, but the WRU have reiterated it’s plans to cut a region before then, confirming that four teams will compete in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and European competitions until the end of the 2027/28 season.

The WRU say that a decision on how a team will be cut will be taken in June.

“We know we need to move to three clubs, nothing has changed there, for both financial and performance reasons and so we can invest in the right way in our pathway to ensure the future of the game,” said WRU CEO Abi Tierney.

“But this move brings stability to the system where it is needed and a calmness and assuredness to our plans for the future.

“Y11 presented the best bid for Cardiff Rugby but the WRU has ultimately concluded that it is in the best interests of Welsh rugby for Cardiff Rugby to remain under WRU ownership for now.

“We remain undeterred from our ambition to move to three professional sides, this is necessary for the future of our game.

“We will continue to invest the £28m we have earmarked for our pathways over the next five years, in a phased way, and we retain our ambitions for commercial growth in the professional game.

“I would like to add that we are all very grateful to Y11 for the professionalism and commitment to Welsh rugby they have displayed throughout this process.”

Y11 added that they are “grateful” to the Union, despite failing to agree terms to buy Cardiff.

“PRA25 for the Ospreys and top tier rugby in Swansea, partnering with Swansea Council and developing St Helens is the right outcome, whilst continuing to work with the WRU to further build a better pro rugby environment,” Y11 Sport & Media commented.

“We are grateful to the WRU for their openness and transparency throughout the negotiation period.

“Thank you to the Ospreys supporters for their patience and understanding, we know these have been worrying times for fans.”

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