South Korean companies join forces with Candy in bid for Chelsea

Soccer Football – Premier League – Chelsea v Newcastle United – Stamford Bridge, London, Britain – March 13, 2022 General view of the stand during the match REUTERS/David Klein

MANCHESTER, England, March 18 (Reuters) – South Korean companies Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Limited have joined forces with British Property developer Nick Candy to bid two billion pounds ($2.64 billion) for Chelsea, a statement from Candy said on Friday.

It added that the consortium also includes “significant investors from Silicon Valley and tech billionaires that own other shareholdings in sports teams in the USA.”

Premier League Chelsea were initially put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government, effectively giving it control of the club.

Raine Group, a U.S. bank, has been overseeing the sale process since before the Russian billionaire was sanctioned, and set a 2100 GMT deadline on Friday for offers to be submitted, one the Candy consortium met.

“Football clubs are vitally important community and cultural assets, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give football back to the fans and put them at the heart of the operations and strategy of a leading global football club,” Candy told Reuters in a statement.

“I believe Chelsea has all of the fundamentals to become the most valuable and respected sports club in the world and a force for the greater good in everything it does.”

C&P Sports CEO Catalina Kim had earlier confirmed to Reuters that they and Hana were considering a bid.

“We are in the process of arranging our bid for Chelsea FC,” a statement read. “Surprisingly enough, despite the size of the economy, there has never been investment into (English) Premier League football clubs made by South Korean capital so far.

“Now it is time for a change and we are ready to start the new chapter with Chelsea FC.”

The owners of U.S. baseball team the Chicago Cubs, the Ricketts family, confirmed to Reuters that they had also tabled a bid for Chelsea, in conjunction with Citadel founder Ken Griffin.

Turkish businessman Muhsin Bayrak, who had previously expressed interest in the club, said late on Friday that his company AB Group Holding had not filed a bid to Raine Bank.

Bayrak blamed AB Group’s failure to meet the deadline due to a misunderstanding with his lawyers over the auction procedure. “I am very upset,” he told Reuters.

According to emails seen by Reuters, AB Group’s lawyers contacted the UK Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport using a generic email address to file an enquiry, rather than to file a bid to the U.S. investment bank.

COMMERCIAL DEALS

Hana Financial Group is a South Korean investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Seoul, Korea. They are also the title sponsor of the Korean Football League and the national soccer team.

C&P Sports Limited is a leading sports consultancy company based in London and Seoul.

C&P Sports has worked on commercial deals with several big clubs in the last 10 years, such as Kumhos Tyres with Tottenham Hotspur, Nexen Tyre with Manchester City and Hyundai Motors with Atletico Madrid.

Candy, a lifelong Chelsea fan, has been joined by former Blues player and manager Gianluca Vialli as he prepares his bid.

“I have met Nick Candy on a number of occasions over the last few weeks and I am fully behind his visions,” Italian Vialli said in a statement after it was announced the company he co-founded, Tifosy, will act as lead advisor for the process.

Numerous other companies and business people were planning to make a bid before the deadline passed.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has joined a consortium including former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.

Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss, who has linked up with LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly to express an interest, has been joined by British businessman Jonathan Goldstein and Conservative peer Daniel Finkelstein.

($1 = 0.7587 pounds)

Reporting by Peter Hall; additional reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen, David Gauthier-Villars and Rohith Nair; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris

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