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Barry Hearn says there is still a chance that the Professional Darts Corporation could take over the British Darts Organisation and unify the sport.

Hearn had a £1m offer rejected in October but the PDC boss has told the BBC: “I'm awaiting a letter from their lawyers requesting further information.

“It’s a step forward. It’s not a no and it’s not a yes. It makes me feel slightly positive, but clearly there’s still a long way to go.”

BDO chief Olly Croft said his organisation was “not for sale at any price” following Hearn’s offer in October, calling it “nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt”.

But the individual county associations that make up the BDO met recently to discuss a possible unification.

“The PDC needs the BDO,” added Hearn. “The county associations do a fantastic job, mostly unpaid and working with no money.

“They keep the game alive at amateur level. I need an amateur level to produce the stars of tomorrow – otherwise in five or 10 years the bubble will burst.

“We need a unified sport for the general good of the game. We’ve got to provide finance for everyone to enjoy darts.

“There’s no money going into the amateur game from the BDO. The BDO hasn’t changed for 20 years – they don’t know how to run a business.

“If you don’t know how to run a business in sport, you’re out of business.

“We’re saying ‘Let us help you, we’ll show you how to run a business properly and we’ll provide finance for the things you need’.

“If that’s wrong, tell me. We’ll walk away and we’ll spend it on ourselves.”