Chelsea FC could be worth €2.2bn as one bidder bows out of sale

The Ricketts family, which came up against allegations of racism during the sales process that started in March, dropped their pursuit of the Premier League club

The sale of Chelsea after a 19-year reign by Roman Abramovich was announced at the beginning of last month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the UK government’s sanctioning of the billionaire.

A consortium led by the Ricketts family said it was withdrawing its bid to buy Chelsea Football Club, leaving only three groups in the race. 

The Ricketts family, which came up against allegations of racism during the sales process that started in March, said it became “increasingly clear that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around the sales process”. 

Their withdrawal trims the hunt for Chelsea down to groups spearheaded by former Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly, British businessman Martin Broughton, and Bain Capital co-chairman Stephen Pagliuca.

The sale of Chelsea after a 19-year reign by Roman Abramovich was announced at the beginning of last month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the UK government’s sanctioning of the billionaire. Another two of the Chelsea owner’s longstanding associates, club director Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich, were sanctioned earlier this week in a move to freeze assets worth as much as £10bn.

The club lost an estimated $1.2m a week during Mr Abramovich’s ownership, partly due to a stadium capacity that’s lower than peers such as Manchester United and Arsenal, according to Kieran Maguire of the University of Liverpool.

Even so, the club is valued at €2.2bn by industry analysts Football Benchmark, which argues that Chelsea’s scarcity value and bidding process could drive the price higher. Buying a club that is established in top competitions “significantly reduces the uncertainty of sporting results,” the analysts said.

AC Milan sale

Meanwhile, the Middle East’s biggest alternative asset manager was said to be in exclusive talks to buy Italy’s AC Milan, the seven-time European soccer champions once owned by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Investcorp, which has among its shareholders Abu Dhabi sovereign-fund Mubadala Investment, is in discussions with Elliott Management of the US to buy the club for an enterprise value of €1bn, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Elliott Management took control of AC Milan in 2018 after the previous owner Li Yonghong of China defaulted on debt obligations.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an influential member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, owns Manchester City, while the Qatar Investment Authority controls Paris Saint-Germain. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought Newcastle United for £305m last year.

One significant absentee from the buying spree is Germany where rules on professional football club ownership prevent a commercial investor from holding more than 49% of the voting shares in a team. 

Bloomberg