Owners of MLB side Chicago Cubs express interest in buying Chelsea
The Ricketts family, who have a majority stake in MLB side the Chicago Cubs, have confirmed they intend to make a bid for Chelsea Football Club on Friday.
Image credit: PA Images Members of the Ricketts family and the World Series trophy on a double decker bus in 2016US hedge fund entrepreneur Ken Griffin is also included in the group bid being led by the Ricketts, according to BBC Sport.
A statement confirmed, "The Ricketts Family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, can confirm they will be leading an investment group that will make a formal bid for Chelsea this Friday.
"As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the community."
Due diligence has already been done as The Ricketts enquired about buying the Stamford Bridge outfit four years ago. They say further details of the new bid will be released "in due course".
Things have since changed since 2018, with current owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK Government on Thursday in relation to the ongoing war in Ukraine and Abramovich’s links with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Abramovich’s attempts to sell the club have been halted by this move but on Monday, it was reported that the American investment firm charged with selling the club believe that a deal could be done as soon as the end of this month.
This is dependent on the government issuing a new license that would enable the club to be sold, but confidence is high that this will happen following an agreement that any funds from the sale could either be donated to charity or placed in a frozen account.
Friday is the deadline for the bid, with it being reported that there could be as many as 20 creditable offers.