Korea Hana teams up with British developer Nick Candy in Chelsea bid

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has joined the race to buy English Premier League club Chelsea in a consortium with British property developer Nick Candy and C&P Sports Ltd.

“It is true that Hana Financial Group’s IB unit submitted a letter of intent along with C&P," a source of the group told The Korea Economic Daily, confirming media reports that Candy and the South Korean companies have teamed up in their bid for Chelsea.

Candy, Hana and C&P cooperated to bid 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) for Premier League Chelsea, Reuters reported, citing the British billionaire. The club was put up for sale after Russian owner Roman Abramovich was hit by UK government sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich aims to sell the famous club for 4 billion pounds, according to media reports.

The Blue Football Consortium was quoted as saying the participation of Hana and C&P indicated the global brand value of Chelsea and its strong fandom in Asia.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

C&P is a leading sports consultancy company with its clients including major clubs such as Spain’s Real Madrid CF, Italy’s AC Milan, as well as UK’s Manchester City FC and Tottenham Hotspurs.

“We are preparing our bid. There has never been investment in a top-tier football club made by a South Korean capital before. It is time for a change,” C&P CEO Catalina Kim was quoted as saying in the Guardian.

Candy, a lifelong Chelsea fan, has also joined hands with former Blues player and manager Gianluca Vialli for the bid, media reported.

In addition to Candy’s consortium, others have joined the race for Chelsea, namely: London-based financial firm Aethel Partners; a consortium of the Ricketts family, who own the US baseball team the Chicago Cubs and Citadel founder Ken Griffin; a consortium of Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss and LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly; and a consortium featuring World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton, according to media reports.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.