Wayne Lumbasi
Five consortium offers for Chelsea FC have been confirmed. Interested parties had until 9pm on March 18 to lodge a bid for the club, before a preferred bidder can be announced.
It comes as the Blues look for new owners to succeed Roman Abramovich, who had to sell the club after receiving sanctions from the UK Government amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions impact how they operate day-to-day under a special sporting license. This means the club hasn’t been able to sell tickets and merchandise, while on the playing side things such as contracts and transfers have had to be put on hold.
Where the Blues move on from here depends on how quickly new owners can be instated and who they are.There are said to be five known as of now. Among them are Sir Martin Broughton, Todd Boehly, Nick Candy and the Ricketts family.
Broughton is a former Liverpool chairman and a lifelong Chelsea fan. He is joined by the President of World Athletics, Lord Sebastian Coe, who is also a Chelsea season ticket holder.
Broughton said to Sky Sports: “I’ve been a Chelsea fan since 1955. I’ve been down there for 67 years. I am a fan. I think it’s important that we have a great deal of fan involvement in this.”
The consortium also confirmed that any proceeds of the sale would go to victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “All cash proceeds from the sale are delivered without delay to the victims of the ongoing humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
As for Boehly, he is joined by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, with investment firm Clearlake Capital backing the bid. They have claimed that they would like a deal to go through before Chelsea face Brentford in their next Premier League game.
Candy is another, like Broughton and Lord Coe, who is a Chelsea fan looking to get a deal over the line and he has pledged for fan representation on the board as well as further investment across the whole club. He is a property developer and is currently leading a global consortium to submit a £2billlion bid.
The Ricketts family have also made a bid, with the Chicago Cubs owners backed by Ken Griffin.
Griffin is a hedge fund billionaire and his net worth is around £21billion, according to Forbes. The final of the confirmed bids is that of Aethel Partners, who put their offer in on Thursday.
The London investment firm have pledged to offer £50million to the club immediately to help with the current financial troubles in the short-term.
What’s next for Chelsea remains to be seen over the coming days and weeks. Raine Bank are looking after proceedings and will be set to name a preferred bidder once all offers have been accounted for.
The prospective owners would then have to pass the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ test.
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