The
Ricketts family-led consortium that was one of the final four shortlisted
bidders in the running to buy Chelsea has withdrawn its bid.
The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team, had partnered
with US billionaires Ken Griffin and Dan Gilbert and were planning to submit
a cash bid for Chelsea.
However, those plans have now ended, with members of the consortium
understood to have been unable to agree on the final make up of the deal.
The Ricketts' withdrawal leaves three remaining contenders, who all
submitted final offers for Chelsea to the Raine Group, the bank handling the
sale, ahead of Thursday's deadline:
- the bid led by Sir Martin Broughton, the former Liverpool and British
Airways chairman, which includes the billionaire Crystal Palace shareholders
Dave Blitzer and Josh Harris
- a consortium headed by Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner, which
includes backing from Clearlake Capital, a US investment firm
- an offer fronted by Steve Pagliuca, part-owner of the NBA's Boston
Celtics and Serie A's Atalanta, which includes support from Larry Tanenbaum,
the NBA chairman, as the parties still in the running to buy Chelsea
The Sir Broughton-led consortium submitted their full and final bid to buy
Chelsea before the deadline.
Investment bank The Raine Group is expected to announce the preferred bidder
towards the end of next week or the following week.
Ricketts consortium: 'Certain issues could
not be addressed'
In a statement released on Friday, the Ricketts consortium said: "The
Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert Group has decided, after careful consideration, not
to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC.
"In the process of finalising their proposal, it became increasingly clear
that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around
the sales process.
"We have great admiration for Chelsea and its fans, and we wish the new
owners well."
The Ricketts bid was unpopular among many Chelsea fans due to discriminatory
emails sent by Joe Ricketts, the family's patriarch, in 2009, and some had
staged a demonstration at Stamford Bridge before the defeat to Brentford
earlier this month. The Ricketts family has said it "rejects any form of
hate in the strongest possible terms".
Sky Sports News understands the Ricketts consortium's withdrawal was not
down to the protests but rather the structure of the deal.
Chelsea have been for sale since March 2 after Roman Abramovich, the
Russian-Israeli billionaire who has owned the club since 2003, announced his
intention to sell amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The 55-year-old was then sanctioned by the UK Government on March 10, with
Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Vladimir Putin, the
Russian president.
Abramovich's UK assets were frozen, including Chelsea, although they were
granted a special government licence to continue operating, though under
strict terms.
Abramovich cannot profit from Chelsea's sale and has already vowed to write
off the club's £1.5billion debt.
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