The deadline for submitting offers for the acquisition of Chelsea has been set for today – Thursday 14 April. According to the Times, all four bidders interested in buying the London club said they will only bid in cash and will not charge debt on the company.
Last night confirmation arrived from the two groups that own American baseball teams: on the one hand, the Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs; on the other, the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Todd Boehly. Together with them also that of the consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton.
The other group, led by Steve Pagliuca, confirmed this morning that it would be a cash offer. Pagliuca, who reaffirmed his commitment to Atalanta, announced that Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife, Elaine, a businesswoman, have joined the offer, along with Canadian sports tycoon Larry Tanenbaum. .
Saverin got into a fight with his fellow Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and settled a legal dispute out of court: according to Forbes, he has a net worth of $ 12 billion. Tanenbaum has stakes in the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, the NHL’s Maple Leafs and the city’s Major League Soccer team. Curiously, Pagliuca also announced that Peter Guber is part of the consortium. Guber is part of the group that owns the Los Angeles Dodgers along with rival Boehly. Guber is also a co-owner of the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Football Club of the MLS.
Also behind Pagliuca’s offer are former Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, a journalist, along with B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly, venture capitalist Jim Breyer and entrepreneur Div Turakhia. . The group represented by Pagliuca also has the support of the True Blues Consortium, led by former Chelsea captain John Terry.
Roman Abramovich, the club’s current owner, and the Chelsea board will make the final decision on the preferred bidder and take into account the recommendations of the Raine Group investment bank handling the sale. It is understood that they will not necessarily choose the highest bid as they will prioritize the future protection of the club.
The preferred offer is expected to be decided next week and, according to the Times, could reach a figure of 2.75 billion pounds (3.3 billion euros).
