There appears to be new names associated with a Chelsea takeover pretty much every day despite the deadline for bids passing. Friday saw a number of offers lodged for the Blues, with current owner Roman Abramovich aiming to seal a quick deal.
One of the latest names to be linked with the club is Indian-born millionaire Vivek Ranadive. According to Sky News, he is joining forces with Sir Martin Broughton, Josh Harris and Lord Sebastian Coe in attempting to purchase Chelsea.
It is suggested that sale facilitators Raine have been made aware of Ranadive’s role in the takeover bid but it remains to be seen whether he alongside his other potential investors will be able to seal a deal. football.london has taken a detailed look at his career so far and what he would bring to Chelsea.
READ MORE: British-backed consortium of fans breaks silence on takeover plans after late bid
Who is Vivek Ranadive?
Ranadivie, 64, is an Indian-American businessman who was born in Mumbai. He studied at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He then continued his education at Harvard Business School, securing a Masters of Business Administration.
What does he do?
Ranadive displayed his sharp business acumen early on in his career as he set up consulting company UNIX whilst studying at MIT. He held a variety of management and engineering positions with Ford and Fortune Systems before taking his first venture into technology.
He set up Teknekron Software Systems in 1985 before then following that up with another technology company known as TIBCO Software Inc. That is where Ranadive is thought to have accumulated his fortune, with the company gone on to reach a net worth of a reported £3.2billion.
Ranadive has also accumulated plenty of experience on the sports front too, having owned stakes in two major basketball franchises. Between 2010 and 2013, he was the co-owner and vice chairman of the Golden State Warriors. He sold his stake in the NBA outfit ahead of completing a deal for the Sacramento Kings where he acts as the Chairman, CEO and Governor.
What has been said?
Whilst Ranadive himself has not spoken about the prospect of acquiring Chelsea, his reported partner Sir Martin Broughton has revealed he is hopeful of sealing a deal for the club sooner rather than later.
Speaking with talkSPORT, he said: “We have submitted a bid. We’re optimistic because I think we’ve got the key ingredients. Personally, I’ve been there and done it at Liverpool, so I know what I’m letting myself in for.
“I think we’ve got a bid which combines a group of individuals, so there’s no one person in charge. All the risks around a single-party owner – geopolitical like we’re seeing now, financial like at Liverpool, health etc – can throw a club into confusion.
“A consortium gives stability to the club – people who are going to invest in the future with no timeline, no exit timeline. They’re committed to keeping the club at the level it’s been recently and they’ve all got along with it being a very fan-friendly bid and encouraged the fans, the Supporters’ Trust, to get much more involved in the process.”
