>>> Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich considers sale after rejecting Silver Lake

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich considers sale after rejecting Silver Lake minority stake bid; Raine Group advising - report
26 AUG 2018
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich is thinking about selling the English Premier League football club after rejecting a bid by Silver Lake Partners for a minority stake, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper did not cite a source for the information.

Chelsea’s board is believed to have appointed the investment bank Raine Group to advise on a strategic review following Silver Lake’s approach, the item said.

Raine and Silver Lake refused to comment, while Chelsea did not reply when asked for comment, the newspaper said.

Ineos Chairman Jim Radcliffe made a GBP 2bn (EUR 2.21bn) offer for Chelsea this year, as reported in June by The Daily Mail.

The Sunday Times report mentioned speculation that Abramovich had rejected Radcliffe’s bid as he was looking for a higher offer.

Chelsea’s plans for a new 60,000 capacity stadium, at a cost of GBP 1bn, were suspended in May after Abramovich was unable to secure a new work visa for the UK, the item noted.

Abramovich has loaned Chelsea close to GBP 1.1bn since acquiring the club in 2003, the report said. Abramovich said at the time that he was paying USD 233m for Chelsea.

Chelsea has posted a loss in every year other than 2013-2014 under Abramovich’s ownership, the report said.

The newspaper went on to cite the latest available accounts for Fordstam, the vehicle used by Abramovich to acquire Chelsea, which show total losses of GBP 871.4m in the years other than 2013-2014, in which the club posted a GBP 14.9m profit before tax.