Aussie star at centre of $4 billion move amid Chelsea football furore
The husband of Australian soap star Holly Valance is reportedly set to make a $4.4 billion bid to buy Premier League club Chelsea following the sanctions imposed on Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
There are fears the Premier League giants could run out of money after the British government sanctioned the Russian oligarch and froze his assets over Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
A spokesperson said on Friday that British property developer Nick Candy remains interested in making a bid for the club and was examining the details of Thursday's sanctions announcement.
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Candy is the billionaire husband of Australian actress and singer Valance, who previously appeared on iconic TV soap Neighbours.
Candy, a 49-year-old Chelsea fan, told Telegraph Sport: "We are looking at what the art of the possible is", adding that he has "spoken to most of the parties" about the prospect of tabling a formal offer.
Candy and younger brother Christian are both developers, with an estimated joint net worth of $2.7 billion.
"The club deserves a world-class stadium – and Mr Candy's unique expertise and background in real estate would be a hugely valuable asset to delivering this vision," the statement added.
The British government, which has been under pressure to ramp up sanctions on Russian oligarchs after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, imposed a travel ban and froze Abramovich's assets on Thursday.
The announcement brought to a halt his recently announced plans to sell the London football club, which he had expected to fetch more than $AU5.4 billion.
The club is now effectively controlled by the British government and is only permitted to operate under strict conditions which prevent transfer deals and new ticket sales and even forced the club merchandise store to close.
"As the license conditions are written today, the sale would not be allowed," Britain's technology minister Chris Philp told Sky News on Friday.
"However, if a buyer emerged, it would be open to that buyer or to that football club to approach the government and ask for the conditions to be varied in a way that allows that sale to take place."
Chelsea in danger of running out of money
In a statement on Thursday, Chelsea said it would seek changes to the licence under which it must now operate to allow the club to continue as normal as possible.
"If the club feels that those licence conditions need to be changed in order to safeguard jobs, then ... at any time they can come and talk to the government about varying those licence conditions," Philp said.
"The red line for the government is making sure that no financial benefit ends up in the hands of Abramovich."
Chelsea officials spent Friday in talks with the government to discuss how the club can continue to pay staff, operate Stamford Bridge on matchdays and ensure the club can be sold.
Abramovich had already announced plans to sell his trophy asset last week.
The Raine Group, an investment bank, is working on the sale process on behalf of Abramovich, who remains owner of Chelsea.
Todd Boehly, a part owner of the MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, is also shaping as a potential buyer.
There have been cumulative losses of around $1.6 billion in almost two decades of Abramovich's ownership, while annual revenue has grown from STG110 million pounds in 2003 to STG435 million pounds in the last financial year.
Chelsea has been reliant on the $2.7 billion worth of loans that Abramovich has pumped into the club, which he has said he will not ask to be repaid.
with agencies
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