Chelsea bidders told they must commit to keeping control of club for 10 years
The three shortlisted bidders in the sale of Chelsea Football Club have been told they must commit to holding a majority stake for at least 10 years, according to reports.
The requirement is set to be a legally binding part of any agreement to purchase the Premier League team from sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich, Sky News’s Mark Kleinman reported.
US bank the Raine Group, which is handling the sale, is expected to nominate a preferred bidder in the coming days as it looks to conclude a deal that could be the most expensive for any sports team.
The three groups still in the running to buy Chelsea are those fronted by former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton, LA Dodgers part owner Todd Boehly and Bain Capital co-chair Steve Pagliuca.
Whichever proves successful, the current European champions are set to become majority-owned by North Americans.
The biggest backers of Broughton’s consortium are Josh Harris and David Blitzer, US multi-sport investors who already hold a significant minority stake in another Premier League team, Crystal Palace.
Boehly’s bid would see LA-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital become two-thirds owners of Chelsea, while Pagliuca’s group also includes NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum.
Russian Abramovich formally put the club up for sale last month shortly before having his assets frozen by the UK and then Europe. The move, motivated by his links to the Kremlin, followed other sanctions against Russia relating to its invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea’s sale would set a new record for a sports team if it exceeds £2.5bn.