ALL FOUR SHORTLISTED bids to buy Chelsea will be entirely funded by cash.
Steve Pagliuca’s bid for the Blues will match the other three competing offers in having no debt, a source close to the Boston Celtics co-owner’s consortium confirmed.
“We have been consistent throughout that this will be a credible and compelling bid,” said a source close to Pagliuca’s bid team.
The four shortlisted consortiums must submit their final offers on Thursday to the Raine Group.
The New York merchant bank will then select a preferred bidder, with Chelsea’s sale still expected to be completed in May.
The Stamford Bridge club’s sale could yet reach a sports franchise record £3billion.
Bidders
- Todd Boehly and Jonathan Goldstein
- Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe
- Ricketts family
- Steve Pagliuca and Larry Tanenbaum
Pagliuca confirmed the make-up of his consortium on Wednesday, with NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum as co-managing partner.
Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
The 55-year-old was then sanctioned by the UK Government on March 10, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea have been granted a special Government licence to continue operating, though under strict terms.
Abramovich cannot profit from Chelsea’s sale, but had already vowed to write off the club’s £1.5billion debt.
Raine Group’s preferred bidder will have to pass Premier League owners’ and directors’ tests, with the final step the granting of a new Government licence to process the sale.
