Chelsea: After Russian owner, Roman Abramovich put the Premier League team up for sale, a deadline for bids was established for 21:00 GMT on Friday.
Candy, a Chelsea supporter, said that he has received extra funding from South Korea and that his bid is worth “almost £2 billion.”
Is this a watershed moment for English football ownership?
After being sanctioned by the UK government, Abramovich’s attempt to sell Chelsea was delayed, and his assets, including Chelsea, were frozen.
Raine Group, an American investment business, has been charged with selling Chelsea, and once a preferred buyer has been identified, the UK government is expected to give a new license allowing the club to be sold.
Although the official deadline to buy the Premier League team in west London was Friday at 21:00 GMT, several last bids are likely to be presented over the weekend.
There are still more than 20 companies interested, but the number of confirmed bids is expected to be in the range of 10 to 15.
Chelsea and Raine Group will create a shortlist next week, with the preferred bidder needing government clearance, which will entail confirming the source of cash and where the money will go next.
The Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test, popularly known as the ‘fit and proper person’s test,’ will have to approve any transaction.
A partnership led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Coe presented one of the bids.
“I remain the only person [in the bidding process] who has effected a change of ownership at a big football club in a similar position, which I did at Liverpool 12 years ago,” said Broughton, who is also the former chairman of British Airways.
“As a longtime Chelsea supporter, I am dedicated to ensuring the club’s dominance at the top of European football is maintained, and that fans are prioritized.”
If the bid is successful, the consortium promises that fans will be “at the center of decision-making” and that the club would “never be subject to a single individual or sovereign wealth fund.”
Broughton said the consortium was “totally on board” with the suggestions made by a fan-led study of the sport last year, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday.
The inquiry, chaired by former sports minister Tracey Crouch, recommended that fans be consulted on all major off-field matters through a’shadow board.’
“All of Tracey Crouch’s ideas are on the table,” stated Broughton.
“We don’t want to tell the fans which parts of the report we’re going to show them; instead, we want to sit down with them and discuss it.
“We firmly believe that the winning proposal should be fan-friendly and include the Tracey Crouch report’s principles.”
Candy’s Blue Football Consortium spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that Mr Candy’s global consortium of investors includes the two South Korean enterprises Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Group.
“Their participation exemplifies Chelsea’s global brand and devoted Asian support.”
“Football clubs are vitally important communal and cultural assets,” Candy continued, “and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return football to the fans and put them at the core of the operations and strategy of a leading global football club.”
Ken Griffin, a billionaire hedge fund entrepreneur, is backing the Ricketts family’s bid.
Muhsin Bayrak, a Turkish investor who had indicated interest in the club previously, announced late Friday that his company, AB Group Holding, had not placed a bid.
Bayrak blamed AB Group’s inability to fulfill the deadline on a misunderstanding with his lawyers about the auction procedure, telling news agency Reuters that the issue had left him “extremely unhappy.”
A Chelsea Supporters’ Trust statement reads below:
Who are the potential Chelsea bidders?
- A group led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton and including Lord Coe, the London 2012 chief executive.
- The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, are leading a group of investors in a bid for the organization.
- Hansjorg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire, and Todd Boehly, a US businessman, have established a group to try to buy Chelsea. Barbara Charone, an American public relations executive, Jonathan Goldstein, a British businessman, and Daniel Finkelstein, a British journalist, have now joined the group.
- Aethel Partners, a London-based investment firm led by Portuguese entrepreneur Ricardo Silva.
- Nick Candy, a British multi-millionaire businessman, is backed by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli, who co-owns Tifosy, a football mergers and acquisitions firm, as well as Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Group.
- US billionaire and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris, who owns a share in Crystal Palace, as well as New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
- Saudi Arabia-based consortium (Saudi Medi Group), are said to be interested.
What is the club worth?
Abramovich purchased Chelsea for £140 million in 2003, but in declaring his desire to sell, he stated that his ownership was “never about business nor money, but about sheer enthusiasm for the game and club.”
He valued the club at £3 billion and has loaned it £1.5 billion, but he has stated that he will not seek for any of the debts to be repaid. Abramovich has also stated that the sale revenues will be distributed to war victims.
The proceeds from the sale could be donated to a charity or placed in a frozen account.
Given the scale of Stamford Bridge, football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes the £3 billion price tag “does seem exorbitant.”
Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, the club has lost more than £900,000 every week, with a payroll cost of £28 million per month.
The majority of the groups that have come forward are tied to American investors who own franchises in the NFL, NBA, and other sports leagues.
They’ll be looking to tweak the model to improve cost control at Chelsea, or they’ll aim to produce additional revenue.
We’re approaching a critical mass of American investment in the Premier League, so they may be aiming to change the culture, potentially with the goal of cutting back on spending to make the league more profitable on a day-to-day basis.
Looking at Aethel’s own financial statements, it’s hard to believe that a business with so few assets could make a bid in the £2-3 billion range.
How quickly could the take-over be completed?
Abramovich has controlled Chelsea since 2003, during which time the club has won 21 titles. The UK government placed a freeze on his British assets, including Chelsea, and the Premier League barred him from serving as a director of the club.
The Blues have been given permission to continue operating after the UK government granted them a special license.
Chelsea’s 800 employees – plus hundreds more on matchdays – will be paid, and existing season ticket holders will be able to attend matches, but a new license will be required if the club is to be sold.
“The quickest one [selling of a club] we’ve done is 10 days, but that’s not to say it can’t be beaten,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said earlier this month.
“Normally, it takes a few weeks, but it varies depending on the complexity of the situation and the number of potential buyers.”
