Menu
Franchises

Chelsea's Russian Owner Reportedly Mulling Sale, Seeking £3B

Roman Abramovich reportedly wants to sell Chelsea.GETTY IMAGES

Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich "is mulling a sale" of the club, according to Baker, Hellier & Reznik of BLOOMBERG. The Russian billionaire is "frustrated by his British visa problems and concerned about the potential fallout" should the U.S. "expand sanctions against wealthy Russians and target him." He has "already rejected bids for the club" in excess of $2.3B -- which would be a "world-record price for a sports team" -- according to people familiar with the talks. Earlier this year, Abramovich hired Raine Group LLC, a merchant bank in N.Y., to "advise on the possibility of a full or partial sale of the club." A source familiar with the discussions said that Abramovich wants £3B ($3.95B). Abramovich’s representatives "declined multiple requests for comment" and "insisted all communication go through his lawyers, who also declined to comment." With a $14.7B fortune derived from oil and metals, Abramovich "holds his enormous wealth" at the pleasure of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a status that has "put him in the crossfire of the Cold War 2.0" that has been "brewing." It is "not only his visa" that has been "effectively stonewalled." In seeking ways to "punish Putin," British officials "appear to be slow-walking most Russian visa applications," according to immigration lawyers in London. Arguably "the most secretive Russian billionaire," Abramovich has not given an interview "in more than a decade." Abramovich's spokesperson, John Mann, said, "To be exact, it’s been 12.5 years!" Nonetheless, he is the "very avatar of Londongrad, the nickname given to the British capital because of the high number of wealthy Russians there." Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert and senior fellow at the Institute of Int'l Relations in Prague, said, "Abramovich spent money to buy himself a certain entree or cachet into British society, but some of the social expectations about being big in British football have not quite played out. He’s high-profile and Kremlin-connected enough to be a useful poster child for this new campaign against Putin. He may decide it’s not worth it to stay" (BLOOMBERG, 9/25).

'POSSIBLE DANGER'?: In London, Alexandra Williams reported Abramovich "has been forced to deny allegations of money laundering" and contact with criminal organizations. He wanted to buy a home near the "exclusive Swiss ski resort" of Verbier in Canton Valais. But the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) "advised immigration officials to reject his application." Journalists from Tamedia, Switzerland’s largest media group, obtained the "secret Fedpol file and fought for the right to publish the damning verdict on Abramovich." Investigative journalist Thomas Knellwolf said, "After half a year in court, we can reveal that Swiss federal police see Chelsea Football Club boss Roman Abramovich as a possible danger for the country. That's why he can't move to Switzerland." Abramovich "vehemently" denied the allegations. His lawyer, Daniel Glasl, said, "We are extremely disappointed by the release and publication of confidential information from Swiss government files regarding Mr. Abramovich, which occurred in clear violation of Swiss criminal law and Swiss data protection laws." The journalists quoted extracts from the private Fedpol documents they obtained. They said that the objection to residency centered around "suspicion of money laundering" and "contacts to criminal organisations" (TELEGRAPH, 9/25).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2018/09/26/Franchises/Chelsea-Roman-Abramovich.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2018/09/26/Franchises/Chelsea-Roman-Abramovich.aspx

CLOSE