Everything Explained as Raine Group Deadline Passes for Chelsea Takeover Bids

The deadline for bids to be submitted to Raine Group to purchase Chelsea has now passed.

The Raine Group, the American merchant bank overseeing the sale, extended the deadline to Friday for bids to be lodged ahead of a quick sale following the UK Government’s sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea have been operating under a special licence which has seen their spending limited as a result of Abramovich’s assets, including Chelsea, being frozen.

Friday saw a busy day as several bids were confirmed to have been put in for Chelsea, with new names emerging throughout

Here is a round-up of the takeover news from Friday as Raine Group will narrow the bids down to two or three preferred offers early next week.

IMAGO / PA Images

‘True Blue’ consortium leading John Terry

The day began with a surprising piece of news stating that Chelsea legend Terry and former women’s star Claire Rafferty were fronting up a £250 million consortium called True Blue in an attempt to buy a 10 percent stake in Chelsea

David Meller, alongside his son Jonathan, Harley Kisberg, and Stanford Loudon are among fellow fans and founding members fronting a consortium to purchase the stake.

The bid promises a high tech approach, allowing supporters, players and former staff to buy fan tokens for upwards of £100 in exchange for voting rights but would require the former Blue to join an already existing consortium of billionaires.

C&P Sports Group and Hana Financial Group / Nick Candy’s ‘Blue Football’ consortium

Then came news of a party interested in a move, with South Korean firm C&P Sports Group declaring their interest.

Their CEO, Catalina Kim stated: “We are preparing our bid. There has never been investment into a top tier football club made by South Korean capital before. It is time for a change.”

It was later confirmed that Nick Candy, who had previously heavily been linked with a move for Chelsea, was behind this as a spokesperson 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 fan base in Asia.”

Candy was reported to have held a private meeting with Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck after the Premier League win against Newcastle United and has found funding to submit a bid for the Club.

Chelsea DAO Group 

A community of Chelsea fans then stated that they had submitted a bid for their club. The group, ChelseaDAO stated that they were hoping to purchase 10 per cent of the Club

Tal Ben Haim brokering deal for Gulf-base billionaire

Reports later in the day emerged revealing that former Chelsea player Tal Ben Haim was brokering a deal on behalf of a Gulf-based billionaire to buy the Club, who submitted a £2 billion bid with the promise of another £500 mllion funds

Todd Boehly Consortium

After adding Clearlake Capital to his consortium, Todd Boehly’s party became ‘overfunded’ having secured more capital than they are likely to require to purchase Chelsea.

It was then revealed that he told Raine Group that he could complete a takeover of Chelsea in time for the next Premier League game against Brentford as he has fulfilled the wish of Hansjorg Wyss by adding partners to the board for the consortium’s bid.

This could be crucial as Raine Group wish to act fast to conclude the sale as soon as possible.

Saudi Media Group 

Saudi Media’s bid for Chelsea is expected to have been made by the deadline as they readied their offer on Friday to Raine Group after encouragement to proceed. It was believed that the Premier League would have little reason to block any sale to the group, easing concerns regarding their bid.

However, there were claims earlier this week that a £2.7 billion offer had already been made.

The Ricketts Family & Ken Griffin

The Ricketts family, with Ken Griffin, officially submitted their bid for Chelsea after registering their interest in previous days.

Sir Martin Broughton & Sebastian Coe bid

A bid to buy Chelsea Football Club headed by Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Martin Broughton was also set to be launched and they believed would be in contention to be considered.

It was reported earlier in the week that the former had joined the latter’s bid for the club, with Coe also being a Chelsea fan himself and holding a strong relationship with the Club.

After no confirmation before the 9pm deadline, the bid was confirmed to have been made shortly after 10pm (UK) on Friday night.

Late Joshua Harris bid

Joshua Harris, owner of the NHL New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers, became the latest U.S. businessman to make a move for Chelsea, with reports emerging just half an hour before the deadline.

He currently has a stake in Crystal Palace, which he would have to sell if he is successful with his bid.

What’s next?

Raine Group will narrow the bids down to two or three preferred offers early next week before giving their verdict next week.

Once there is a preferred bidder, the proposal will be put towards the Government and funds will then be deposited into a third-party account to be frozen by the Treasury.

The Premier League will undergo a fit and proper check of the new owners before approving a bid and giving Chelsea the green light to be taken over.