April 21, (THEWILL) – American tennis star Serena Williams and British race driver, Sir Lewis Hamilton, have agreed to put £20 million into a consortium looking to acquire Chelsea as the process gets into its final stages.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner and seven-time Formula One champion, are among a group of investors supporting Sir Martin Broughton’s takeover bid for Chelsea.
The two worldwide sports stars have each contributed £10 million to the bid, which has the backing of the former Liverpool and British Airways chairman, Lord Coe, is also a member of the group led by the British. Hamilton, an Arsenal supporter and Williams have both established themselves as successful investors in recent years.
Serena Ventures, the tennis star’s venture capital fund, recently invested in Opensponsorship, a British-based sports digital start-up, while Hamilton recently funded Zapp, a London-based speedy supermarket delivery service.
The inclusion of Hamilton and Williams in the consortium was due to their experience in developing global sports brands, while the consortium’s roster’s diversity drew the two to support the project.
Broughton’s consortium also has the support of American private equity billionaires, Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer, who, if their offer is successful, will own a controlling ownership in the club.
If they were to take over Chelsea, they would have to sell their Crystal Palace shares, which they now own.
The Canadian Rogers family, the Taiwanese Tsai family and brewing billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo are among the other investors in Broughton’s proposal.
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.
