Chelsea sale: Boehly and Broughton bids make shortlist to buy club
The consortiums bidding for Chelsea led by Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton have been told they are on the shortlist to buy the club.
The groups have been informed by Raine Group, the US bank handling the sale, that they have progressed to the next stage of a process that will end with Chelsea being taken out of Roman Abramovich’s hands.
Boehly, part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, has teamed up with investors including the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein, a British businessman who is the CEO of Cain International and a Tottenham fan.
They are understood to have been among the first groups to bid and were confident from the word go of striking a deal. The Times columnist and Conservative peer Daniel Finkelstein and the PR executive Barbara Charone – both Chelsea season-ticket holders – are part of the consortium.
Broughton is also a Chelsea fan and has another, Sebastian Coe, in his group. Among the backers are the US investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who own the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise and are Crystal Palace shareholders. They will have to end their involvement with Palace if selected to buy Chelsea. Financial muscle is also offered by Creative Artists Agency, a US company whose portfolio includes the football agency Base, and Evolution Media Capital.
Nick Candy, another Chelsea supporter, is among other bidders and is in talks with another interested party regarding potentially teaming up if his consortium is not included on the shortlist. He has backing from, among others, the South Korean Hana Financial Group.
The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team, were on Friday morning still hopeful they could make the shortlist. Their bid has faced a
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