Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of Ineos, has confirmed a late bid for Chelsea. An announcement on which of the three other candidates would be given the keys to Stamford Bridge seemed imminent.
INEOS is a multinational producer of petrochemicals and oil products, consisting of 36 separate companies and operating 194 sites in 29 countries
Chelsea and Raine, the bank assisting the club on the takeover, have been considering only three consortiums: Todd Boehly; Stephen Pagliuca; and Sir Martin Broughton, football.london reported.
Chelsea was warned to speed up the process by Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Nadine Dorries, who said they were on borrowed time. “Chelsea is very much on borrowed time right now,” she stated on the BBC Newscast program. This sale has a very short window left. It must occur quickly.”
Abramovich and the club might potentially postpone the process if they accept Ratcliffe’s latest bid given the other candidates’ months of due diligence. Getting the club into the appropriate hands has seemed to be a goal throughout the process. Nonetheless, Ratcliffe’s group seems confident in their offer.
“We made an offer this morning,” Ratcliffe said Friday. No other British bidders. We just want to build a great club in London. Nobody benefits because we make money in other ways.”
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It remains to be seen how the remaining three contenders react. They were individually summoned to Stamford Bridge earlier this week to make their final pitches to the club. If this new proposal is accepted, the procedure may be prolonged.
The three bidders apparently agreed last week to make a significant philanthropic donation as part of their offers. Sky News says it’s roughly £500 million each. Abramovich and the club have made clear plans for the future of Stamford Bridge, and it is unknown whether Ratcliffe will have the chance to do so.
The Times reports that in addition to the £2.75 billion needed to buy the club, the billionaire has pledged an additional £1.75 billion over ten years to develop the ground, team, and infrastructure.
Ratcliffe was asked about his failed bid to buy the Blues in 2019 back in early March, shortly after Abramovich declared he would be selling the club.
He told BBC Five Live that there was some early exchange, but they were miles apart on valuations. “Chelsea’s problem is its stadium. We are all becoming older and it takes a decade to fix it.”
“Even though clubs have those valuations now, nobody has ever paid those amounts,” he told The Times in 2019. Abramovich paid £100 million for Chelsea. The Glazers, £500m? Nobody has paid three or four billion dollars for it.
“Ineos has always tried to be reasonable. We don’t enjoy wasting money or we wouldn’t be here. ” Spending wisely is in our DNA.”
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