Chelsea: Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team Chicago Cubs, submit bid to buy club

2 years ago 24

ARTICLE AD BOX

The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, have submitted their offer to buy Chelsea.

The bid, which is backed by billionaire hedge fund entrepreneur Ken Griffin, was submitted before the 21:00 GMT deadline on Friday.

British property investor and Chelsea fan Nick Candy will also submit a bid.

On Friday, he said he had secured additional investment from South Korea to his Blue Football Consortium.

Is this a moment of reckoning for ownership in English football?

Roman Abramovich's attempt to sell the club was halted after he was sanctioned by the UK government and his assets, including Chelsea, were frozen.

That move came in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Abramovich understood to have strong ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

American investment firm Raine Group has been tasked with selling Chelsea and the UK government is expected to issue a new license, allowing the club to be sold, once a preferred buyer had been highlighted.

The official deadline to purchase the west London Premier League club was 21:00 GMT on Friday, although some final bids are likely to be submitted into the weekend.

There are still more than 20 interested parties, but the number of confirmed bids is likely to be 10-15.

Chelsea and Raine Group will make a shortlist next week, with the preferred bidder then requiring government approval, which will involve proving the source of funds and where the money goes next.

Any sale will also need to be signed off by the Premier League's owners and directors test - known as the 'fit and proper person's test'.

A spokesperson for The Blue Football Consortium said: "I can confirm that the two South Korean firms Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Group are a significant part of Mr Candy's global consortium of investors.

"Their involvement is representative of Chelsea's global brand and huge loyal fanbase in Asia."

Turkish businessman Muhsin Bayrak, who had previously expressed an interest in the club, said late on Friday that his company AB Group Holding had not filed a bid.

Bayrak attributed AB Group's failure to meet the deadline to a misunderstanding with his lawyers over the auction procedure, telling news agency Reuters that he was "very upset" by the situation.

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140m but in his statement announcing his intention to sell he said his ownership had "never been about business nor money, but about pure passion for the game and club".

He values the club at £3bn and has loaned the club £1.5bn - but said he will not ask for any loans to be repaid. Abramovich has also said proceeds of the sale would be donated to war victims.

The funds from the sale could go to a charitable organisation or into a frozen account.

Who are the potential bidders for Chelsea?

A consortium led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, and joined by London 2012 chief Lord Coe
The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, are leading a bid from a group of investors
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US businessman Todd Boehly have formed part of a consortium to try to take over Chelsea. Now joined by American PR executive Barbara Charone, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein and British journalist Daniel Finkelstein
London-based investment firm Aethel Partners, headed by Portuguese entrepreneur Ricardo Silva
British multi-millionaire businessman Nick Candy, supported by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli, who co-owns Tifosy, a mergers and acquisitions company for the football sector and joined by Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Group.
Other parties reported to be interested include US billionaire and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris who has a stake in Crystal Palace, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and a Saudi Arabia-based consortium.