Chelsea bidders shortlist to be cut to three, Candy increases bid

MANCHESTER, England: Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the sale of Premier League club Chelsea, plans to narrow down the shortlist of bidders to three on Monday or Tuesday, sources told Reuters, with one consortium lead by Nick Candy increasing their offer.

Chelsea were initially put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government, effectively giving it control of the club.

Raine set a deadline of 2100 GMT last Friday for bids to be put forward, with several being made public, while sources close to the deal said many more had been submitted privately.

To move things forward, Reuters has been told that Raine, in consultation with the club, will narrow down the shortlist, with the process slowed by revised bids still coming in.

One of the three bidders who made their offers public on Friday, Candy's Blue Football consortium, revised their bid on Monday, they told Reuters in a statement, after being joined by "another large Korean financial institution."

British property developer Candy submitted a bid of over £2 billion (US$2.63 billion) to Raine on Friday, but has since increased his offer "significantly", without disclosing by how much or the name of the new investor.

He had already been joined in his consortium by South Korean companies Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Limited before the new investors got on board.

"The Blue Football Consortium has access to immediate capital with funds readily available for deployment from day one," Brian Gordon, partner of Squire Patton Boggs, the law firm working with the Blue Football Consortium, said.

"The bid is sourced from credible co-venturers whose attitude towards governance