According to sources familiar with the complicated process of selling the Premier League club, the Chicago Cubs owners are considering joining a group of investors looking to buy Chelsea.
If they choose to move forward, the Ricketts family will likely have partners in any potential multi-billion dollar deal that will require major geopolitical considerations amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the maneuverings of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003. Sky News first mentioned the possibility of Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin teaming up with the Ricketts and using their expertise to run a world-famous team.
The Raine Group, the commercial bank behind the Chelsea sale, has a working relationship with the Ricketts family and knows a small circle of investors with the capital and ability to take the Premier League club in London seriously. Chelsea’s filing deadline is March 15, or possibly Day 104 of the Major League Baseball lockout.
According to sources familiar with the family’s long-term mindset, the Ricketts have been involved in such deals in recent years, looking for a big-name club at a good price, most notably chasing AC Milan in 2018. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts is a football fan who once owned a stake in Derby County. The decision for Chelsea, however, will be made at a family level, much in the same way that the Ricketts orchestrated an $845 million deal for the Cubs, Wrigley Field and part of the regional television network in 2009. Family patriarch Joe Ricketts, founded the company now known as TD Ameritrade.
In trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement and raise the luxury tax threshold, the MLB Players Association has pointed to skyrocketing franchise values and all the spin-offs in places like Wrigleyville, where the Cubs continue to build an entertainment zone around their newly refurbished but still iconic stadium.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the last two seasons — and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has already canceled games in 2022 — the Cubs have been an impressive investment for the Ricketts family. While those estimates were inaccurate last year, both Sportico ($4.14 billion) and Forbes ($3.36 billion) ranked the Cubs as the fourth most valuable franchise out of MLB’s 30 clubs.
Cubs fans are frustrated by the slow pace of the CBA talks and are waiting to see how quickly the team will bounce back after trading so many popular players last year. Should the Ricketts find the right partners and bid for Chelsea – and again, this remains an open question just over a week before the deadline set by Abramovich – their overall presentation will also revolve around ending a 108-year league drought. for the Cubs and the preservation of Wrigley Field by investing nearly $1 billion in the neighborhood.
Whether it’s hiring talent or redesigning a stadium, the Cubs often look to the Boston Red Sox model, and Fenway Sports Group’s portfolio includes Liverpool.
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