Moneyball genius Billy Beane and RedBird private equity firm considering bid to buy Chelsea from Abramovich

Mar 5, 2022 | News

Billy Beane, the 59-year-old American who became famous for his ‘Moneyball’ approach, has teamed up with US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners led by Gerry Cardinale to form RedBall Acquisition Corp to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.

The corporation is said to be the first ever sports-focused special purpose acquisition company.

If they do successfully acquire the club from Abramovich, it is thought their vision is to create a business “which complements the management team’s expertise and will benefit from its strategic and hands-on operational leadership”.

Michael Rubin, owner of sports merchandise group Fanatics, is also though to be interested in bidding for the club.

Abramovich has put Chelsea on the market for £3billion after 19 years as owner of the club.

Get the week’s top news delivered directly to your inbox – Sign up for our newsletter

Sign up

And it was reported earlier this week that Todd Boehly, part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the LA Lakers, is liaising with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss over a potential bid.

Meanwhile on Saturday, reports stated Abramovich flew on a private jet to Turkey earlier on this week to potentially discuss the sale with Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak.

The £48.7million luxury 2019 Gulfstream G650ER aircraft – one of six in his fleet – flew from Moscow and briefly landed in Istanbul before heading to Turkish capital Ankara.

Bayrak claims that he has been locked in negotiations with Abramovich over buying the Premier League club and insists he is ‘in the negotiation phase for the signatures’

He told Turkish outlet Yeni Safak: “We are negotiating the terms of the purchase of Chelsea with Roman Abramovich’s lawyers.

“We are in the negotiation phase for the signatures. We will fly the Turkish flag in London soon.

“We made our offer. Because of the war with Russia and Ukraine in the world. Because they find Turkey safe, they want to get most of the after-sales money in Turkey. We are planning to sign soon.”

Source: The Sun

Can’t stop reading? Read more