Chelsea: Aethel Partners become latest group to submit bid to buy club
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Several parties have expressed interest in buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich
Investment firm Aethel Partners are the latest group to say they have bid for Chelsea before the Friday deadline.
Headed by Portuguese entrepreneur Ricardo Silva, the London firm is pledging to put in £50m immediately.
That will serve as bridging funding to help ease financial issues the club faces and to redevelop Stamford Bridge.
Several parties have already expressed their interest in buying the Premier League club from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
His attempt to sell Chelsea has been halted after he was sanctioned by the UK government.
That move came in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Abramovich understood to have strong ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, American PR executive Barbara Charone and British journalist Daniel Finkelstein have teamed up with the Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly bid to buy Chelsea.
Charone is a heavyweight within the music industry, having worked with the likes of Madonna, Rod Stewart and Depeche Mode.
She has been a Chelsea season-ticket holder since 1981.
Finkelstein is also a prominent lifelong Chelsea fan. He was executive editor of The Times and became a member of the House of Lords in 2013.
The bid believes having two such prominent match-going Chelsea figures as part of their team provides an authenticity before Friday's deadline for bids to be received.
More than 20 credible parties are interested in buying the Premier League club.
British businessman Nick Candy said earlier this month he was exploring "a number of options for a potential bid".
Former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli, who co-owns Tifosy, a mergers and acquisitions company for the football sector, announced on Wednesday that he is working with Candy on his bid.
The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, also said they are leading a bid from a group of investors, while London Olympics chief Coe joined ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton's bid.
Abramovich had his British assets, which includes Chelsea, frozen last week and was disqualified as a director of the club.
The Blues are allowed to continue operating after a special licence was issued by the UK government,
This also ensures Chelsea's staff are paid and allows existing season ticket holders to attend matches, but a new licence will need to be issued for the club to be sold.
Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003, with the club winning 21 trophies during his tenure.
Who else has announced their bid to buy Chelsea?
Only some of the interested parties or bidders have come forward so far:
Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US businessman Todd Boehly have formed part of a consortium to try to take over Chelsea.
Wyss told Swiss newspaper Blick, external that he had been offered the chance to buy the club.
The 86-year-old is worth an estimated £3.9bn.
Boehly, who is a part owner of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, was previously linked with a takeover of Chelsea in 2019.
Muhsin Bayrak
Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak says he is one of those to have launched a bid to buy the club, adding "we will fly the Turkish flag in London soon".
Bayrak is chairman of AB Grup Holding, which he founded in 1999, and has investments in crypto currency, construction, tourism and energy sectors.
Sources close to Bayrak told BBC Sport he is determined to buy Chelsea and his lawyer was set to be in London for talks last week.
Others
Other parties reported to be interested include New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, external and a Saudi Arabia-based consortium., external
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who owns Ineos and bought French club Nice in 2019, has previously shown interest, but will not seek to purchase Chelsea because he does not see it as good value.
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