Chelsea’s four bidders set deadline to make final offer as race to buy Blues hots up

March 27, 2022 admin CHELSEA 0

 

Chelsea’s final four bidders have until April 11 to make a final offer for the Premier League club.

And that means the Blues could be under new ownership by May as the £3billion race to buy the club enters it’s final stages. New York merchant bank the Raine Group has set a deadline for improved bids, with each prospective owner given the chance to up their offer.

All four must commit to at least £1bn of future spending to remain under consideration as the clock ticks down on the process. Chelsea insist that figure must form part of any winning bid because they feel it would safeguard the club’s future among the elite.

Raine shortlisted four parties on Friday with Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca the final bidder to be granted preferred status. The others are LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly’s consortium, Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family and former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton.

Pagliuca, who joined the race late on Friday, is a 67-year-old US billionaire and co-chairman of investment group Bain Capital. Now each bid will come under renewed scrutiny before the winner is put forward for the Premier League owners’ and directors’ test. A new licence to approve the sale must also be granted by the UK government, although this is likely to be a formality as Downing Street wants the process concluded quickly.

Raine shortlisted four parties on Friday with Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca the final bidder to be granted preferred status. The others are LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly’s consortium, Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family and former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton.

Pagliuca, who joined the race late on Friday, is a 67-year-old US billionaire and co-chairman of investment group Bain Capital. Now each bid will come under renewed scrutiny before the winner is put forward for the Premier League owners’ and directors’ test. A new licence to approve the sale must also be granted by the UK government, although this is likely to be a formality as Downing Street wants the process concluded quickly.

That too will be heavily scrutinised by the government as Abramovich’s initial offer to set up such a charity himself raised the prospect of wounded Russian soldiers benefiting.