Robbie Fowler has agreed to join Cardiff on a two-year contract.
The 32-year-old striker was released by Liverpool at the end of last season and has rejected moves to Leicester City and Sydney FC in Australia's A-League.
Fowler will be re-united with Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale, who was in charge at Leeds when he signed from Liverpool for £11m in November 2001.
He is expected to be officially unveiled at a news conference in Cardiff early next week.
"It's taken a lot of hard work but thankfully it's done now," Cardiff manager Dave Jones told BBC Wales Sport.
"I met Robbie on holiday in America, just a chance meeting, and asked him what he was doing.
"He wasn't sure so I went on the internet to check his record and found he wasn't a bad player so I thought we might chase him.
"Peter [Ridsdale] has worked really hard on it and I'm glad he's decided to we are the club he wants to join."
Fowler's arrival at Ninian Park comes just over a week after Cardiff sold last season's top scorer Michael Chopra to Sunderland for £4.5m.
Jones revealed he would have signed Fowler even if Chopra had stayed, and stressed the former England striker still has the hunger to be successful.
"He's certainly got that, that's not in question," added Jones. "And to bank £4.5m for Chopra and then to get Robbie Fowler on a free transfer is good business.
"It puts the club in a healthy position, which is what we've been fighting for over the last 12 months."
Sydney FC had hoped to lure Fowler, and the former England striker was impressed with the set up after travelling to Australia for talks.
But his representative George Scott revealed Sydney were unable to compete financially with the other offers for Fowler.
"The only thing against them is that Robbie is a Premiership player and he is used to Premiership money," said Scott.
"The Premiership is unique in terms of the crazy money it generates and there is nothing in the world that replicates it, not even Spain. That money is well beyond Sydney and the Australian league and we know that.
"It is really a battle between money and quality of life and believe me, quality of life counts for a lot of money. All the money in the world is not going to buy your family's happiness."
Fowler becomes Cardiff's sixth summer signing of the summer, following Trevor Sinclair, Gavin Rae, Steven MacLean, Tony Capaldi and Michael Oakes to Ninian Park.
Jones revealed he still wants to bring another goalkeeper and a striker before the start of the season, but categorically dismissed reports that Cardiff had agreed a £1m deal to sign Blackburn's Francis Jeffers.
"That is a total fabrication of a story," said Jones. "I just do not know where these people get it from.
"Someone asks you a question, you give an answer and all of a sudden two and two becomes 10. It's totally untrue and I find it absolutely amazing."
Fowler made his Liverpool debut as an 18-year-old in 1993, scoring 171 goals in 330 games before joining Leeds for £11m in 2001 and then Manchester City for £6m in 2003.
Fowler returned for a second spell at Anfield in January 2006, although his starting appearances were limited.
