May 02, (THEWILL) – Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s offer of £4.25 billion to buy Chelsea is thought to be lower to that of favoured bidder, Todd Boehly and it will no longer be considered.
Despite being more than two weeks late for the deadline set by the financial entity in charge of the sale, Raine Group, Ratcliffe revealed that he had submitted a formal offer to purchase the Blues, which is said to have circumvented Raine entirely and gone straight to Chelsea.
Raine had reportedly confirmed to Boehly that he had been put up as their preferred bidder, and that he would be granted exclusive discussions to try to finalise a deal.
But, Ratcliffe argued to the UK government that as his was the only all-British bid, it should be prioritised over the others. As persuasive an argument as he made it, his late offer is no longer being considered.
Ratcliffe’s offer is thought to have been rejected by Chelsea because it was lower than Boehly’s, and Raine moved rapidly to dismiss the bid because it arrived so late and attempted to upset the process.
Raine claims that Ratcliffe’s offer was made without proper diligence, and that his claim to be “all-British” has been called into question because he currently resides in Monaco.
Ratcliffe had been approached about a possible proposal and was considering a move before Abramovich even put the club up for sale in March, but the British investor decided against it.
His £4.25 billion bid, which met Abramovich’s original ask at the time, fell short of the current offers especially after the Chelsea owner increased the price by £500m to enhance his philanthropic donation, as THEWILL reported.
Consequently, Boehly is anticipated to be granted the opportunity to execute a takeover, although there is still work to be done. Sir Martin Broughton and Stephen Pagliuca, Boehly’s bidding opponents, have been warned to be on the lookout in case there are hiccups that change the takeover.
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.
