Three bids submitted for Premier League club Chelsea as deadline passes

Premier League club Chelsea by groups led by British property developer Nick Candy, Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family and the pairing of Martin Broughton and Sebastian Coe. Premier League Chelsea were initially put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government, effectively giving it control of the club.

Raine Group, a U.S. bank, has been overseeing the sale process since before the Russian billionaire was sanctioned, and set a 2100 GMT deadline on Friday for offers to be submitted, a deadline three bids have so far officially met.

South Korean companies Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports Limited have joined forces with Candy to bid two billion pounds ($2.64 billion) for Chelsea, a statement from Candy said on Friday. It added that the consortium also includes "significant investors from Silicon Valley and tech billionaires that own other shareholdings in sports teams in the USA." "Football clubs are vitally important community and cultural assets, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give football back to the fans and put them at the heart of the operations and strategy of a leading global football club," Candy told Reuters in a statement.

"I believe Chelsea has all of the fundamentals to become the most valuable and respected sports club in the world and a force for the greater good in everything it does." C&P Sports CEO Catalina Kim had earlier confirmed to Reuters that they and Hana were considering a bid. "We are in the process of arranging our bid for Chelsea FC," a statement read.