Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca has joined the race to buy Chelsea as four preferred bidders are made aware that they've made the next stage of the process.
The sale of the Blues is being partly handled by merchant bank Raine, who have compiled a shortlist of preferred buyers. Pagliuca is a late arrival to the party and is co-chair of private equity group Bain Capital. His personal fortune is around £3bn, which is much less than some of his competitors, but he could finance a bid for the Premier League side through Bain.
Pagliuca does hold a 55 per cent stake in Serie A outfit Atalanta however, which could be an issue given UEFA rules with both sides regulars in the Champions League recently. The Boston Celtics owner faces competition from a group led by compatriot Todd Boehly, who is part-owner of the LA Dodgers, and is also backed by Swiss partner Hansjorg Wyss and British businessman Jonathan Goldstein.
