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Who are the front runners to buy Chelsea?

The field for the race to buy Chelsea will be reduced to no more than three preferred bidders by early next week. There have been close to 100 potetial bidders, but the sale of a football club always attracts time wasters whose egos are far bigger than their bank accounts.   The latest news on the bidders, an already reduced field is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60800380

The government is understood to have advised Chelsea that the quickest way of achieving a sale is for Roman Abramovich to agree that the proceeds of the sale will be put into a frozen third-party or escrow account before it is distributed to good causes. 

Michael Klein, a prominent American investment banker, and Creative Artists Agency, the US talent management agency, are behind a bid being fronted by Lord Coe and Sir Martin Broughton, the former chairman of British Airways who was briefly the chairman of Liverpool before brokering the Fenway takeover at Anfield in 2010.   It is being reported that this bid is viewed with favour in government circles (Coe was a Conservative Party and aide of former party leader Lord Hague).

The Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team, are also considered serious contenders given the wealth of their bid partner, Kenneth Griffin. The American fund manager has a personal fortune of more than £20 billion.

US asset manager Oaktree Capital is in the frame.  The $166bn asset manager, run by Howard Marks in Los Angeles, is planning to bid alone, although it could still become part of a wider consortium, 

But some insiders still believe that the consortium comprising the LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, the London property tycoon Jonathan Goldstein and the Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss remains a leading bid.

The Boehly group believe that their stewardship of the Dodgers and their expertise in property development — given the need to rebuild Stamford Bridge — makes them an attractive proposition.  They have recruited Lord Daniel Finkelstein, a Chelsea supporter and former adviser to Dave Cameron.

Another potential bidder for Chelsea emerged with Aethel Partners, a London-based investment firm, claiming it has registered a bid of more than £2 billion. It said its blueprint for the club would be to keep the management in place and to commit £50 million in short-term financing to keep the club solvent.

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