Atalanta majority owner Stephen Pagliuca has welcomed the backing of John Terry's True Blues consortium as he made an announcement on the make up of his consortium who are vying to takeover Chelsea. Larry Tannenbaum has been revealed as a co-managing partner of the group.
With the April 18 deadline fast approaching for the next phase of the takeover process, all four bidders and their respective groups have been outlining their individual plans to the supporters regarding the direction of the club.
Todd Boehly has attended Chelsea vs Real Madrid whilst also outlining his ambitions for the club. The Ricketts family are focusing on fan engagement and developing the stadium in their pitch, whilst the Sir Martin Broughton group, which contains Crystal Palace stakeholders Harris and Blitzer, also want to focus on the re-development of Stamford Bridge and further development commercialisation of the club worldwide.
Pagliuca's group, which is spearheaded by his own company Bain Capital and NBA Chairman Tanenbaum, has been one that has slightly been under the radar in recent times, but the appearance of the majority Atalanta shareholder in the recent Southampton win has signalled intent ahead of the whole takeover process coming to an end in May. As per Sky News, Pagliuca is willing to give up his majority share in the Serie A club to maintain a takeover advantage and secure Chelsea FC over his American and British counterparts.
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He released a statement recently as he labelled the Roman Abramovich situation as a ''disconcerting time for the football club and fans.' It went on to add: "Throughout my life and career, my ethos has always been to operate quietly, with integrity, and let my actions and results speak loudly. However, it is imperative to clarify and assure supporters about our bid group and its commitments, to emphasize how seriously we take our potential responsibility to Chelsea."
Since this statement came out on Monday, Terry's True Blues consortium has endorsed the bid led by the Boston Celtics owner with a message of their own. To which, Pagliuca has now replied welcoming the backing of the group who are looking for a 10% share plus outlining the investment team that will be heavily involved in negotiating an offer with the UK government and Raine Group specifically. The full statement read: “We are thrilled to have such an accomplished group of individuals who are committed to the long-term interests of Chelsea Football Club.
“We appreciate this opportunity and would be honoured to create an exciting future for this great football club." More details then were revealed about business partner Tanenbaum: "Larry is a world-class individual who is highly regarded in the global sports community, and his experience in sports governance, his long-term perspective, and civil construction expertise are tremendous assets for our group.”
The NBA Chairman then reciprocated the kind words: "The decision to partner with Steve was an easy one as we share similar values and passion for sports. Once we started speaking, it was clear that we share the same long-term vision and goals for Chelsea Football Club. I can reassure Chelsea supporters that both Steve and I are committed to supporting a championship-winning team, building a state-of-the art stadium at Stamford Bridge, investing in our academy and women’s teams, and making a real difference in the community. I am excited by the potential future for Chelsea Football Club.”
The full investment team including the True Blues consortium include former Disney CEO Bob Iger and journalist Willow Bay; Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and businesswoman Elaine Saverin; B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly; co-owner of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Football Club Peter Guber; global venture capitalist Jim Breyer, of Breyer Capital; investor John Burbank; and serial tech entrepreneur Div Turakhia.
