Mike Keohane, the SRU's director of corporate affairs, said in today's Scotsman: "We have received and responded to their proposal, but we are just at the first stage and both parties have not yet met. Part of that first stage was that we all sign a confidentiality agreement, so it is a surprise that these plans seem to be in the public domain. The last thing we want is for negotiations for be conducted through newspapers.
"I would expect a meeting to be held quite soon, probably in April, but how long it might take to reach agreement is very difficult to say."
He added: "There are many issues for Scottish rugby to consider. No-one is making sufficient money out of professional rugby that they don't need a subsidy from the national body of their sport, be it in England, Wales, Ireland or Scotland, but things change.
"An issue is the extent to which we wish to commit ourselves to an arrangement based on today’s experience. It's not impossible that pro rugby can grow and grow, so is it best to franchise a team out for 15 years for example, when the picture can change considerably in that amount of time? Is it appropriate to give up a majority share-holding having invested so much already? These are the kinds of issues we need to explore fully."
Reports yesterday claimed Stirling appeared to be a front-runner as a location for the newly-owned team to call home, but The Herald claims that there is nothing to rule out a string of locations, including Pittodrie and Scotstoun, close to Glasgow Warriors's home in the West End is another option.
You can read The Scotsman article here
You can read The Hearld article here