A string of bidders for Chelsea Football Club including the former US ambassador to the UK have been eliminated from the £3bn auctions of last season’s Champions League winners as the hunt intensifies to find Roman Abramovich’s successor as owner.
Sky News has learnt that a number of bidders including Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets American football team, have been notified that their bids for the London club had been unsuccessful.
Sources close to several bidders confirmed that they had been told yesterday by Raine Group, the bank handling the process, that they were not being shortlisted.
The Guardian reported that one of the unsuccessful bidders was Saudi Media Group, with others understood to include Muhsin Barak, a Turkish businessman who had previously insisted that he had a 90% chance of buying Chelsea.
The rejection of Mr. Johnson’s bid would, if confirmed, eliminate one of the apparent early frontrunners to acquire the Stamford Bridge side.
Uncertainty surrounded the fate of a number of other prominent bids on Thursday afternoon, including those of Centricus, a London-based asset manager who only disclosed its interest publicly four days ago, and Nick Candy, the London-based property developer who has recruited a number of prominent financiers to strengthen his offer.
Aethel Partners, another bidder which had announced its offer publicly, is also not expected to make it to the next phase of the process.
It was unclear whether Raine had formally decided on a final shortlist, but among the leading contenders to buy Chelsea are consortia led by Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner, and Sir Martin Broughton, the former Liverpool and British Airways chairman.