Chelsea are nearing the end of the month, meaning their deadline for completing a prospective takeover is nearing. It comes as their Government-issued sporting licence expires next week.
That’s after over three months of drama in the ownership saga, with Roman Abramovich announcing the sale of the club after 19-years at the helm. He was sanctioned by the UK Government shortly after, with his assets frozen and the Blues placed under the licence to allow them to continue, but restricting other processes.
US banking firm Raine was left in charge of overseeing the bidding, eventually choosing Todd Boehly’s consortium as the preferred bidder. There have been some fine details to iron out, but it appears the American is set to complete the takeover in the coming days.
Equally, the licence and sanctions placed on the club are set to be lifted immediately, as announced by the secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, Nadine Dorries, in the Houses of Parliament. It comes as a huge boost to the club, who will need to return to a purely footballing basis ahead of a busy summer.
And, in another hint toward the takeover being completed, a new statement has been posted to the club accounts on Companies House. It reveals a statement of capital following the allotment of shares, which is an overview of how the shares capital looks as of that date, the different classes of shares and their rights.
214,974,461 shares have been issued, worth one penny each, which amounts to roughly £2.15million in capital. Those shares have full voting rights and full dividend rights on the board of directors.
It may be an indication of just how close the deal is to going through, though with a case as complicated as this, it could still be some days away from completion.
