The owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team has joined the ranks of American sports billionaires exploring a takeover bid for Chelsea Football Club ahead of a deadline for offers.
Sky News has learnt that Tilman Fertitta, whose wealth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $6.2bn (£4.8bn), is among the parties given access to a data room by the merchant bank overseeing the sale of last season’s Champions League winners.
It was unclear on Monday evening whether Mr Fertitta was likely to table an offer for Chelsea by the end of the week, or whether he was in talks about others regarding a joint bid.
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. Pic: AP
A spokeswoman for Mr Fertitta declined to comment, while one person close to the process expressed scepticism that he would ultimately bid.
He is, however, the latest US-based sports franchise-owner to demonstrate a tentative interest in buying the club, which was initially put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich but has now effectively been commandeered by ministers after the Russian-born businessman was sanctioned by the government.
Mr Fertitta would in many respects be a logical bidder for Chelsea given his ownership of the Houston Rockets NBA side and his extensive interests in the hospitality and entertainment sectors.
Peers including Todd Boehly, a part-owner of the LA Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs-owning Ricketts family, Josh Harris, a backer of the Philadelphia 76ers and Vivek Ranadive, owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, are all either preparing to lodge bids for Chelsea or are reported to be interested.
Premier League a magnet for US financiers
The cluster of American sports billionaires circling Chelsea underlines the extent to which the English Premier League has become a magnet for financiers from across the Atlantic during the last 20 years.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have all been acquired by US-based businessmen during that period, and a significant number of other top-flight clubs also have American backing.
Sky News understands that Chelsea’s future ownership was the subject of a specially convened call involving all 20 Premier League clubs on Monday, with the London side’s chairman, Bruce Buck, facing questions about whether it will be able to complete the season.
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck
One club executive is understood to have referred to the prospect that the debt-free sale of Chelsea could leave it with an unfair competitive advantage.
Mr Buck, who also fielded enquiries about how a buyer will be selected and how the proceeds will be distributed.
Chelsea won their first game since Mr Abramovich was sanctioned at home to Newcastle on Sunday after a late goal from striker Kai Havertz.
The match was attended by Nick Candy, the property developer who Sky News revealed at the weekend has pledged to give Chelsea fans a seat on the board if any bid he is involved in triumphs in the coming weeks.
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Chelsea fans ‘should be involved in ownership’
Mr Candy is also offering to provide short-term funding to Chelsea if it faces a cash crunch following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich.
His offer would be subject to compliance with the strict conditions imposed by the government as part of the licence granted last week that enables Chelsea to continue operating.
Last season’s Champions League-winners have been thrown into disarray by Russia’s war on Ukraine, with Mr Abramovich initially proposing to place the club in the care of its foundation and then formally putting it up for sale.
The field of prospective bidders for Chelsea has continued to grow even since the government announced that Mr Abramovich was being sanctioned, cutting off the club’s principal source of financing for the last two decades.
At the weekend, Sky News revealed that Jonathan Goldstein, another London-based property executive, had joined the consortium led by Mr Boehly.
Sir Martin Broughton, the former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman and a lifelong Chelsea fan, is also in talks to enter the auction either in partnership with another bidder or at the helm of his own consortium.
The many remaining questions about the sale of Chelsea now concern the price that a buyer will have to pay and the destination of the proceeds, with the government adamant that Mr Abramovich will not see any financial return after owning the club for nearly 20 years.
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‘Abramovich mustn’t benefit’
He had initially slapped a £3bn price tag on the Stamford Bridge outfit, with the net proceeds being donated to a charitable foundation set up to benefit the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Last week, Chelsea sponsors such as Three UK, the mobile telecoms network, and Hyundai, the Korean car-maker, suspended their association with the club, which was also banned from opening its retail outlets or selling new match tickets to fans.
The licence restrictions were relaxed by the government at the weekend, meaning it can spend additional funds on fulfilling home matches and receive broadcast income and prize money.
Raine, the US merchant bank running the auction of Chelsea, notified prospective bidders last Friday that it and Chelsea had “coordinated with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and UK Government Investments [UKGI] and will be moving forward with the sale process”.
A rapid sale is seen as essential if Chelsea is to remain solvent and therefore retain the nucleus of a playing squad which has become established as one of Europe’s most successful under Mr Abramovich’s ownership.
Whoever buys the club will require the government’s consent in the form of a special licence as well as the approval of the Premier League under its fit and proper ownership test.