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Sir Jim Ratcliffe Submits $5.33 Billion Bid to Buy Chelsea
April 29, 2022
Sir Jim Ratcliffe announced he will make a last-minute bid to purchase Chelsea:
Rob Harris @RobHarris£4.25 billion bid for Chelsea by Jim Ratcliffe<br><br>Statement from INEOS.<br><br>3 bids already being assessed.<br><br>Govt has to sign off on the sale.<br><br>Ratcliffe wants £2.5bn to go to a trust. Would that be an Abramovich-linked trust? The government doesn't want him to benefit from the sale <a href="https://t.co/ULgZMvmtlr">pic.twitter.com/ULgZMvmtlr</a>
The British billionaire would invest $2.19 billion over 10 years into the club with $3.14 billion going to a trust that will support victims of the war in Ukraine.
When Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich first announced the sale of the club, he said the net proceeds from the sale would go to a charitable foundation to support victims of the war.
The $5.33 billion total bid would exceed the current bids for the Premier League club, reportedly in the region of $3.14 billion, per Alistair Magowan of BBC Sport.
The other reported bids are led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehly, Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton. The first two are led by Americans, while the third bid features financing from Americans Josh Harris and David Blitzer.
Ratcliffe is looking to counter that with his own local bid.
"This is a British bid, for a British club," the statement read.
The 69-year-old is best known as the CEO of INEOS Group, a chemicals company, and currently has a net worth of $15.2 billion, per Forbes.
His bid could change the timeline for the Chelsea sale, which was seemingly nearing a conclusion.
According to Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports, Raine Group, which is overseeing the sale, held its final meetings in London with potential bidders this past week and were expecting to make a decision by Monday.