A
string of bidders for Chelsea have been eliminated from the £3 billion
auction of last season's Champions League winners as the hunt intensifies to
find Roman Abramovich's successor as owner.
Sky News has learnt that a number of bidders including Woody Johnson, owner
of the New York Jets American football team, have been notified that their
bids for the London club had been unsuccessful.
Sources close to several bidders confirmed that they had been told on
Thursday by Raine Group, the bank handling the process, that they were not
being shortlisted.
Press Association reported that one of the unsuccessful bidders was
Saudi Media Group.
The rejection of Mr Johnson's bid would, if confirmed, eliminate one of the
apparent early frontrunners to acquire the Stamford Bridge side.
Uncertainty surrounded the fate of a number of other prominent bids on
Thursday afternoon, including those of Centricus, a London-based asset
manager which only disclosed its interest publicly four days ago, and Nick
Candy, the London-based property developer who has recruited a number of
prominent financiers to strengthen his offer.
Aethel Partners, another bidder which had announced its offer publicly, is
also not expected to make it to the next phase of the process.
It was unclear whether Raine had formally decided on a final shortlist, but
among the leading contenders to buy Chelsea are consortia led by Todd
Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner, and Sir Martin Broughton, the former
Liverpool and British Airways chairman.
A joint bid by the Ricketts family and Ken Griffin, the hedge fund
billionaire, is also a serious contender, and people close to the consortium
expressed optimism that they were overcoming issues raised by historical
racist comments by one member of the Chicago Cubs-owning family.
Never clear how Saudi Media Group would
have funded Chelsea bid
Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports' Chief News Reporter:
"What is happening at the moment is the Raine Group, who are handling the
sale of Chelsea, are getting in touch with some of the bidders to let them
know whether they have been successful, or unsuccessful into making in on to
the shortlist.
"And they are first of all contacting those bidders who have been
unsuccessful. Now as far as the Saudi Media Group are concerned, we have
never reported officially that they have made a bid for Chelsea, that was
not something we were able to confirm, lots of other media outlets also
never reported that the Saudi Media Group had made an offer for Chelsea.
"One of the issues is the Saudi Media Group's turnover is something like
£700-800m a year, so it is not very clear how they would have the money to
buy a club like Chelsea.
"But, as it is, the Press Association are reporting that they are not on the
shortlist."
Race to buy Chelsea: Boston Celtics owner Pagliuca emerges as latest suitor
A joint-owner of the Boston Celtics and Serie A side Atalanta has emerged as
one of the parties who have tabled offers to buy Chelsea.
Sky News has learnt that Stephen Pagliuca, a prominent private equity
executive who co-chairs Bain Capital, submitted a bid for the Premier League
club ahead of the deadline late last week.
It was unclear on Thursday who Pagliuca's partners in his bid for Chelsea
are.
With wealth estimated in the hundreds of millions - rather than billions -
of dollars, sports industry insiders said it was unlikely he had bid for
Chelsea alone.
If Pagliuca does not make it to a shortlist of bidders expected to be
selected by Raine Group, the merchant bank handling the sale, he could seek
to team up with one of the remaining consortia.
Chelsea fans able to buy tickets again
The UK government has made amendments to Chelsea's operating licence,
meaning fans are now able to buy tickets to certain matches and the club
have access to a £30m fund via their parent company.
Section 10.3 of Chelsea's amended operating license says: "Under this
licence, subject to the conditions below, the Parent may pay the Club up to
£30,000,000.00 in respect of cashflow or liquidity issues faced by the
Club."
The Parent is Fordstam Ltd which is owned by Roman Abramovich, who was
sanctioned by the UK government on March 10. Chelsea FC PLC is supported
financially by Fordstam.
In another change to the licence, Chelsea fans can now buy tickets to away
matches, cup games and women's fixtures
It means fans will be able to purchase tickets for Chelsea's FA Cup
semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley on the weekend of April 16 and
17.
However, tickets for home Premier League games are still subject to
restrictions. Only season-ticket holders and those who purchased tickets
before the UK government sanctioned owner Abramovich will be able to attend.
Chelsea's fixture schedule:
To be rearranged: Leicester (H) Premier League
To be rearranged: Leeds (a) Premier League, live on Sky Sports
March 19 - Middlesbrough (a) FA Cup QF
April 2 - Brentford (H) Premier League
April 6 - Real Madrid (H) Champions League QF first leg
April 9 - Southampton (a) Premier League
April 12 - Real Madrid (a) Champions League QF second leg
April 16/17 - Crystal Palace (Wembley), FA Cup semi-final
April 20 - Arsenal (H) Premier League, live on Sky Sports
April 24 - West Ham (H) Premier League, live on Sky Sports
April 26/27 - Man City/Atletico Champions League SF first leg *
May 1 - Everton (a) Premier League, live on Sky Sports
May 3/4 - Man City/Atletico Champions League SF second leg *
May 7 - Wolves (H) Premier League
May 14 - FA Cup final *
May 15 - Man United (a) Premier League
May 22 - Watford (H) Premier League
May 28 - Champions League final *
* Subject to progress
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