Nick
Candy is still pursuing his bid to buy Chelsea despite the UK government
sanctioning the club's owner Roman Abramovich on Thursday.
Abramovich has had "his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK
individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions" imposed on
him.
Chelsea are asking the government to ease some of the restrictions imposed
on the club to ensure that they can survive.
Chelsea are currently not allowed to sell tickets for games or any
merchandise, but the government are believed to be open to tickets being
given away free, especially to schoolchildren. However, Chelsea's position
is they need the revenue.
Chelsea are running the sale process for the club, and it is down to them to
agree a sale. The buyer would then have to work with the government, who
would look extremely closely at any potential deal to make sure Abramovich
is not benefiting.
The sanctions are intended to stop the 55-year-old from making any money in
the UK - including from the potential sale of Chelsea, with as many as 10
parties understood to be interested in purchasing the club.
A quick sale of Chelsea is regarded as being in everyone's interests,
including the government's, and there has been no indication that any of the
interested parties are having second thoughts about buying the club.
Candy, married to Australian popstar and actress Holly Vallance, is a
Chelsea season ticket holder and property developer, and is planning on
attending Sunday's game with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, live on Sky
Sports.
"We are examining the details of yesterday's announcement and we are still
interested in making a bid," Candy's spokesperson said.
"Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans. In our
view, no one is the owner of a football club - you are the custodian of it
for the fans and the community."
The Boehly-Wyss consortium are also still believed to want to buy Chelsea.
Abramovich has set a £3billion asking price and wants to make sure the club
is sold to someone or a group who will carry on his policy of investing in
the squad with a view to redeveloping Stamford Bridge or building a new
stadium.
Abramovich has loaned Chelsea £1.5bn since he bought the club in a £140m
deal in 2003. Chelsea's latest accounts show a turnover of £416m and a loss
of £145m after tax for the year to 30 June 2021.
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Who are the potential bidders?
Todd Boehly-Hansjorg Wyss consortium - Boehly tried to buy Chelsea in a
£2.2billion deal three years ago and he still wants to buy a Premier League
club. The LA Dodgers part-owner has teamed up with Swiss billionaire Wyss.
They are unlikely to pay the £3billion asking price.
Muhsin Bayrak - The Turkish businessman's spokesperson has told Sky Sports
News that he has submitted an offer for Chelsea but his claims are being
treated with caution.
RedBird Capital Partners - US private equity firm who last April paid £533m
for an 11 per cent stake in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group. Premier
League rules would prevent them owning another club.
Thomas Ricketts - The chairman of the Chicago Cubs is looking for investment
opportunities outside the US and was part of a consortium that tried to buy
AC Milan in 2018.
Nick Candy - Property developer and Chelsea supporter who is interested in
putting together a consortium to buy the club.
Conor McGregor - MMA fighter and Manchester United supporter who claimed on
social media on Friday that he was offering £1.5billion. Not thought to be
the profile of owner Abramovich is looking for.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe - Britain's richest man has looked at buying Chelsea
before but he is known to believe that Premier League clubs are overpriced.
Bought Nice and FC Lausanne instead. His spokesperson has distanced him from
a move for Chelsea.
Loutfy Mansour - Egyptian businessman is a Chelsea season-ticket holder but
his spokesman says he is not pursuing a bid.
Q&A: What we know so far
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
What is Chelsea's view on the situation?
"The situation as far as Chelsea are concerned is the government have said
they can carry on playing even though their owner is banned from doing any
business whatsoever in the United Kingdom, but there are obviously
conditions attached to the licence they've been given by the government
which allows them to continue operating and playing.
"Chelsea's feeling is that some of the terms of that licence are just too
strict and that it's going to be very difficult for them to carry on
sticking to what the government is asking them to stick to. For instance,
not being able to sell tickets for games or not being able to sell shirts.
"You have to bear in mind that Chelsea, as a business, their wage bill is
almost £6m a week, so they need money to be coming in to carry on. So these
are the kind of points they'll be making to the government. They will be
saying 'have another look at this, amend this licence. Is there a way, for
instance, we can open our club shop and make money from merchandise? Is
there a way that we can sell tickets for games? We need more money coming
in. The terms that you have imposed on us at the moment, we believe are
unworkable'."
Where do we stand with potential bidders?
"I'm not sure Chelsea's worth billions. Not many people have ever paid
billions for a football club. All the people who were interested in buying
Chelsea are still interested.
"I think they will be thinking 'we may be able to get it cheaper now and
yes, the process is on hold at the moment, but in the long term, we may come
out of this better because instead of the problems doing business directly
with Roman Abramovich, we are doing business effectively with the UK
government.'
"So it makes it easier to do a deal and I think they'll be even more
interested in buying the club now."
What about sponsors?
"The big one is Nike, because Chelsea have a massive deal with Nike. I think
it is still worth about £540m to them so if they were to lose that deal with
Nike they may lose £540m. We haven't been able to get an update from Nike
yet.
"As far as other sponsors are concerned - Three pay Chelsea about £40m a
year. That sponsorship is temporarily on hold.
"Hyundai, another one of their big sponsors, have told us they are assessing
the situation, so they are looking at their commercial partnership with the
club.
"We have had an update from Trivago and it looks like for the moment Trivago
are staying with Chelsea. They say this is a very challenging situation but
it's important to support the club, the fans and the community."
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