April 01, (THEWILL) –The UK government has been urged to prevent Bain Capital from acquiring Chelsea, citing the consortium’s “despicably dishonest business” practices.
Stephen Pagliuca, who already owns Boston Celtics and Atalanta Serie A, is a co-owner of Bain Capital. However, following a parliamentary debate, the bid has been rocked by controversy.
On Thursday, Lord Peter Hain told the House of Lords: “As a Chelsea fan for 57 years, will the Government ensure that no winning bid loads debt on the club like the Glazers did to Manchester United?
“Will ministers also bar the Pagliuca Consortium bid headed by the chair of Bain Capital, which remains highly entwined with Bain & Company, recently indicted by a South African Judicial Commission for acting ‘unlawfully’ and referred for prosecution.
“Bain cynically and ruthlessly disabled the country’s tax collecting agency by conspiring with the corrupt former president Zuma for an £8m fee. Chelsea and the Premier League must not be contaminated with such despicably corrupt business practice”, Hain argued.
“The Government does not want to pre-judge any decision Chelsea may make as it is a decision for them to ensure the best owners for the club are found,” responded Conservative Lords whip Baroness Penn on behalf of the Government.
“We would expect all due diligence and assessment of owners to happen before an application for a licence for the sale of the club to be made, which then OFSI (Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation) would consider on its merits.”
Bain Capital has already stated their position, denying any affiliation with Bain & Company, the firm accused of the questionable practices.
This is the latest twist in the Chelsea takeover story. Earlier, supporters launched a social media campaign called #NoToRicketts in response to the Ricketts family’s potential takeover of the club.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
