Third Korean company joins bid to buy Chelsea: Reports

A pedestrian walks past Chelsea's stadium Stamford Bridge in London on March 18. [AFP/YONHAP]

A consortium led by British property developer Nick Candy and backed by Korean companies Hana Financial Group and C&P Sports on Monday significantly increased its bid to buy Premier League football club Chelsea with the support of a new, unnamed Korean backer.

The Blue Football Consortium reportedly increased its bid for Chelsea to over £2.5 billion ($4 billion) from an original offer of £2 billion on Monday, after receiving additional backing from an unnamed Korean group, believed to be a financial institution, over the weekend.

The consortium already includes Hana Financial Group and London-based sports management firm C&P Sports.

Over 50 initial bids were made for the London football club, with U.S. firm The Raine Group, which is managing the sale, set to release a shortlist later this week.

Alongside the Blue Football Consortium, some of the biggest bidders include the U.S.-based Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, former British Airways chairman Martin Broughton working with President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe, and London-based asset management firm Centricus in partnership with hedge fund manager Jonathan Lourie of Cheyne Capital and Talis Capital's Bob Finch.

The Chelsea football club was put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian oligarch has since been sanctioned by the British government, freezing his assets, but the club was granted permission to continue operations.

Since sanctions were introduced, the club has been unable to sell tickets to games or merchandise. The club is allowed to be sold, but Abramovich can not benefit from the proceeds.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Abramovich had expressed his intent to block any bids coming from countries that had sanctioned Russian oligarchs. If true, that could prove a huge advantage to the Blue Football Consortium, provided Abramovich recognizes that a lot of the financing has come from Korea, which has sanctioned Russia, but not specific oligarchs.

The Saudi Media Group from Saudi Arabia, which has not sanctioned Russian oligarchs, has also reportedly put in a bid of £2.66 billion, but is likely to be blocked by the British government.

Hana Financial Group is already heavily invested in football as the main sponsor of the K League and the Korean national football team and the owner of K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen.

According to Korean reports Saturday, the financial group confirmed that it had submitted letters of intent as part of the Candy-led consortium.

C&P Sports is a London-based sports management firm that specializes in linking European football clubs with Korean companies and players, including establishing the partnership between Tottenham Hotspur and Kumho Tire.

Heading the consortium, Candy is one half of British property tycoon brothers Christian and Nick Candy. A long-term Chelsea fan, Candy has been working to bring together a consortium to buy the club since the sale was announced.

Candy’s proposal includes a major renovation of Stamford Bridge and also involves former Chelsea striker and manager Gianluca Vialli.

The upheaval in the boardroom has done little to impact Chelsea on the pitch, with the club sitting comfortably in third place in the Premier League having won all of their last five games.

With 10 points separating Chelsea from second-place Liverpool and 11 points from first-place Manchester City, the club are likely to see out the last couple of months of the season in third place.

Chelsea’s deepest ties with Korea on the pitch actually come from the women’s team, where Ji So-yun has played since 2014. Ji is the most successful Korean women’s football player ever, at both the club and international level, and is a staple part of the Chelsea squad.

The Chelsea men's team won't be back in action until after the international break, facing Brentford on April 2. The women's team will take on Tottenham in the Super League on Wednesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]