Sky
Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol answers the most pressing
questions as Chelsea's ownership saga rumbles on for another week.
Up to 10 parties are considering making bids for Chelsea, with investment
bankers working on the sale expecting most of the interest to come from the
USA.
Read on for Kaveh's full analysis as he tackles the key questions at this
stage of the selling process...
Is the £3billion asking price proving a
stumbling block?
An asset is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and at the
moment it is unlikely that there are many people who are ready to spend
£3billion buying a football club.
Having said that, Sky News has already reported that one £2.5billion offer
has been rejected so there is definitely interest out there.
When it comes to valuations, most people think Chelsea are worth anywhere
between £1billion and £2.4billion but that was before Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
What are the potential problems holding up
a deal?
Just because Roman Abramovich wants to sell Chelsea, it doesn't necessarily
mean he is going to get his way - unless he has a quick buyer lined up.
Russian banks are sanctioned, oligarchs are sanctioned, businesses from all
over the world are pulling out of Russia - it's not going to be easy to do
business with Abramovich.
Investors like to buy businesses they can transform but it's difficult to
see how much more you can do with Chelsea if you are going to spend
£3billion to buy the club. You will need to spend something like another
£1billion to redevelop Stamford Bridge (without owning the freehold) or
build a new stadium and you will need to keep bankrolling the playing side
if you want to carry on operating on the Abramovich business model.
People who buy football clubs want what they like to call "a project" but
Chelsea are already the world and European champions. What more can you do
to improve them on the pitch? And how much money are you going to make out
of them? Newcastle United were bought for £300m for a variety of reasons and
one of them was the investment opportunity - the new owners think they can
make them as big and successful as Chelsea one day. They are hoping that in
10 years time Newcastle could be worth £3billion.
That kind of paper return on investment is not possible if you buy Chelsea
for £3billion - and don't forget financial fair play rules mean new owners
will not be able to spend big like Abramovich did in the early days.
Abramovich has put £1.5billion into Chelsea over 19 years and their latest
accounts show a loss of £145m for the tax year to the end of June 2021.
How does Russia's invasion of Ukraine
affect a potential deal?
Football is totally irrelevant and insignificant considering what Russia is
doing in Ukraine at the moment. From a reputation point of view, as a
business or an individual, do you want to get involved in bidding for
Chelsea at the moment and spending billions on an asset owned by a Russian
oligarch?
Any banks getting involved in a potential deal are going to have to do a lot
of due diligence depending on the sanctions in place at the time. Some may
feel it's too risky to get involved. Banks and lawyers and the government
will want to know where the money is coming from and where it is going to.
Russia is being cut off from the global banking system. Where is Abramovich
going to deposit the proceeds of any sale? Where is he going to set up a
bank account for the charitable foundation which is going to distribute the
net proceeds to "all victims of the war in Ukraine"? Why doesn't he just
donate the money to charities such as the Red Cross? At the moment there are
many more questions than answers.
What is the process for tabling bids?
Anyone who wants to buy Chelsea has to register their interest with
investment bank The Raine Group by March 15. Raine is marketing the sale on
behalf of Abramovich. You will need to show proof of funds and sign a
non-disclosure agreement.
Some of the bidders are going through that process at the moment. Raine will
earn a sizeable commission if the club is sold. It's a two-way process. It's
not just potential buyers contacting Raine, Raine will also be approaching
people it knows are interested in buying a Premier League club.
Who is the frontrunner to buy the club at
this stage?
Financial expert Simon Kuper questions who, alongside Swiss billionaire
Hansjorg Wyss, is part of a reported consortium looking to buy Chelsea?
At this stage, it is the Todd Boehly-Hansjorg Wyss consortium but more often
than not buyers like to keep their name out of the media until a deal has
been agreed.
One of the reasons Wyss has spoken in public about his interest could be
that he wants to encourage other people to join his consortium as they may
not have the money to buy Chelsea on their own.
Most people think that if Abramovich is able to sell Chelsea then the next
owners could well be American. That is where the money is as far as buying
English clubs is concerned at the moment. Russian and Chinese money has
dried up and global stock markets have been tanking.
The Rickett family who own the Chicago Cubs are interested. They have tried
to buy AC Milan in the past but the Russian angle makes this even more
complicated than most other deals to buy Premier League clubs.
Turkish businessman Muhsin Bayrak says he has made a bid for Chelsea but
people close to the process say those claims should be treated with caution.
Very little is known about Bayrak outside Turkey but he seems to want to
raise his profile.
Is Conor McGregor a serious bidder?
Even though he is a Manchester United fan, he could be more serious than
most people think judging by what our colleagues at Sky News have reported
in detail. They say his management company Paradigm Sports is working with
McGregor Sports & Entertainment and Empowerment IP Capital on a bid for
Chelsea.
Abramovich wants to sell Chelsea to someone who will look after the club and
protect his legacy and it is unknown whether McGregor will fit the profile
of owner he is looking for at the moment.
Could the eventual new owner be someone we
haven't heard from yet?
Yes. The eventual owner - if there is to be one - could be someone we
haven't heard from at all. The very serious business people are very
discreet and will sign non-disclosure agreements with Raine and will have no
reason to speak to the media. Those that speak openly to the media are
either doing it as a publicity stunt or they are trying to attract people to
invest in their consortium.
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