Each of the four remaining bidders for Chelsea have been told they must commit at least £1billion to future investment if they are to succeed in becoming the club’s new owners.
This week a quartet of bidders were moved onto the next stage of the sale process to purchase the Blues, ending Roman Abramovich’s near two-decade tenure as the club’s owner. Sir Martin Broughton, Todd Boehly, Tom Ricketts and Stephen Pagliuca all have built consortiums that have passed the next stage set by Raine Group, the US merchant bank handling the sale.
Now, according to Sky News, the four bidders have all been notified that they will have to sign contractual agreements guaranteeing that at least £1billion of additional funding will be made available to the club for its development should they become its owners. This should reassure Chelsea fans that the new owner will continue to back their club with the same kind of financial resources made available by Abramovich.
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Raine are now expected to set another deadline for mid-April before which there will be further checks on each of the four bidders against a set of criteria including price; future investment; level of equity and debt funding.
Why is Chelsea up for sale?
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government in March due to his personal links to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. As part of the sanctions his assets, including Chelsea, were also hit, though the Blues were allowed to continue playing under a special license.
With Abramovich sanctioned and having already expressed his desire to sell the club, the process of changing ownership has begun and the sale is now in the hands of Raine Group, a US merchant bank.
Who is behind each bid?
Raine recently cut down the group of bidders to just four, with each now having to go through stringent tests and criteria to reach the next stage.
Former Liverpool and British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton and former Olympian turned businessman Lord Sebastien Coe are fronting one of the bids and reportedly have the financial backing of American billionaires Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer. The group also contained Indian-born entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive as well as a group of other investors which Broughton is expected to reveal in the coming days.
Another leading contender is the Ricketts family, who own the Major League Baseball franchise Chicago Cubs. Tom Ricketts, the Cubs chairman, has helped oversee a huge period of success for the team including ending the 108-year wait for a World Series win in 2016 and redeveloping their Wrigley Field home to the tune of $1billion.
LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly is also one of the leading contenders with his bid being advised by Goldman Sachs. US investment firm Clearlake Capital and London-based property developer Jonathan Goldstein are also part of the consortium.
The final contender for Chelsea is led by American private equity billionaire Stephen Pagliuca who part-owns both NBA side Boston Celtics and Atalanta in Serie A. His Bain Capital firm, which he is co-chairman of, currently has £117billion capital under management while he is also on the board of directors at Burger King.
How much will Chelsea sell for?
Roman Abramovic had initially slapped a £3billion price tag on Chelsea but now it is being suggested that a figure between £2.5billion and £2.75billion will be likely.
When will the sale happen?
Raine will set a new deadline for mid-April and hope to get a new bidder finalised and a special license approved by the UK Government by the end of the month.
