Chelsea news LIVE: Takeover latest as shortlist of three bids set to be decided amid Centricus offer

Centricus emerge as latest bidder for club on Monday

Four Chelsea fans are behind London investment firm Centricus’ bid to buy the Blues, pledging “exemplary custodianship” of the Stamford Bridge club.

Global investment specialist Centricus manages a £29 billion fund, with co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and chief executive Garth Ritchie both big Chelsea fans.

Fellow supporters Cheyne Capital hedge fund manager Jonathan Lourie and Talis Capital’s Bob Finch have joined forces with Centricus for a bid to buy Chelsea that was submitted ahead of Friday night’s deadline.

Centricus is the latest to declare its candidacy to buy Chelsea, revealing its intentions to maintain the Blues’ status as one of the globe’s elite teams.

Roman Abramovich put the Blues up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine

Chelsea takeover: Shortlist of three bids set to be decided ahead of sale

Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the sale of Premier League club Chelsea, plans to narrow down the shortlist of bidders to three.

Chelsea were initially put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government, effectively giving it control of the club.

Raine set a deadline of 2100 GMT last Friday for bids to be made, with several being made public, while sources close to the deal said many more had been submitted privately.

Some are only just being made public now, with London-based global investment firm Centricus confirming on Monday that they had offered to buy Chelsea, a bid driven by co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and CEO Garth Ritchie, who are both said to be Blues season ticket holders.

Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the sale of the club, will identity the three most suitable offers

Bids raised to take ownership of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich

The public lobbying to be chosen as a preferred bidder for Chelsea stepped up on Monday as increased offers were being mulled by bankers tasked with selling the English Premier League club for sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich.

British property tycoon Nick Candy revealed he “significantly” increased the amount offered, having already submitted a bid of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) for the club on Friday to the New York-based bank the Raine Group, overseeing the process.

Abramovich is being forced to sell the reigning world and European champions after he was sanctioned in Britain and his assets were frozen as part of a crackdown on oligarchs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian was also disqualified from running the west London club and being a director by the Premier League.

Another consortium that bid features Todd Boehly, part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, and Jonathan Goldstein, a London-based property investor who is CEO of Cain International. Michael Broughton, the former chairman of Liverpool and British Airways, is leading a consortium that includes track great Sebastian Coe, who is president of World Athletics, an IOC member and a Chelsea fan.

The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs, have linked with hedge fund manager Ken Griffin in a consortium. The family fortune was made by Joe Ricketts as chairman of electronic trading platform TD Ameritrade. His son, Tom Ricketts, serves as Cubs chairman.

The public lobbying to be chosen as a preferred bidder for Chelsea has stepped up as increased offers were being mulled by bankers tasked with selling the English Premier League club for sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich

Luke Baker22 March 2022 09:08