Roman Abramovich is trying to spark a bidding battle for Chelsea after announcing the European champions are up for sale — and writing off £1.5billion in debt.
The stunning move last night immediately put prospective buyers on alert and was designed to set up competition to billionaires Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss, who are leading the race to buyout the Russian with a combined bid.
LA Dodgers part-owner Boehly is believed to have already seen one bid rejected in recent weeks, while Wyss claimed Abramovich’s asking price was too high.
The pair emerged as the front-runners to assume control of Chelsea yesterday but Abramovich’s announcement, right ahead of the FA Cup fifth round tie with Luton, has invited offers from around the world. He has instructed New York-based merchant bank Raine to find buyers and interested parties have been informed to make official bids by March 15. Offers are expected to be submitted within the coming days.
Abramovich is believed to value the club at £4bn, which Wyss considers overpriced. But the oligarch’s confirmation he will not ask for his loans to be repaid makes Chelsea a more attractive prospect to buyers.
Loutfy Mansour, the Egyptian chief executive of Man Capital, is another name linked with a potential bid.
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, this morning ruled himself out of the running, a spokesman saying there is “no substance to reports” of his interest. Even after writing off his debt, there is an expectation that Abramovich will have to accept a cut-price bid — particularly with the apparent urgency of his move to sell.
While he insisted the sale would not be fast-tracked, his actions over a remarkable few days have pointed to a growing urgency. At the weekend he announced plans to hand over stewardship of the club to trustees of Chelsea’s charitable trust, while insisting he would maintain ownership.
But that move ran into immediate troubles with trustees uncomfortable with their new role, leading them to report a serious incident to the Charity Commission. Just four days later — and with growing calls for him to be sanctioned for his association with Vladimir Putin — he announced his decision to sell, which had the potential to cause disruption to Thomas Tuchel and his squad ahead of their game at Kenilworth Road.
Abramovich’s lawyers reject that he needs to be sanctioned.
Tuchel admitted speculation about the owner had been a distraction to his players, who twice came back from a goal down to beat Luton 3-2. The German has now called for clarity. But there are much bigger issues at play for Abramovich, who, it is claimed, is selling off his London property portfolio. Yesterday Labour leader Keir Starmer called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose sanctions on the 55-year-old.
Abramovich, who has also vowed to donate the net proceeds of the sale to the victims of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, finally bowed to pressure last night.
In his statement he said: “I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the Club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners.
“The sale will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid. This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”
It is believed club director Marina Granovskaia as well as chairman Bruce Buck would leave the club following its sale. There remains uncertainty over what would happen if Abramovich is sanctioned.
It is possible a sale could still go ahead even if his UK assets were frozen by the Government prior to the deal’s completion.
According to a Treasury document from December 2020, special exemption licences can be granted to companies owned or controlled by individuals added to the UK’s sanctions list. The grounds for granting such licences include a situation where a deal has been struck “prior to the date of designation” and special “humanitarian” circumstances.
