![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/123612219_gettyimages-1125784577-696x392.jpg\" "\\"Nick")
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British billionaire Nick Candy is \u201cactively exploring a number of options for a potential bid\u201d to buy Chelsea.<\/p>\n
Candy, a boyhood Chelsea fan, is trying to form a consortium with a number of international investors.<\/p>\n
Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale last week amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine following Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
Candy, 49, believes his background as a property developer could give him an advantage with any plans to rebuild Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
There are now 20 credible interested parties being handled by the US-based Raine Group, with a deadline of 15 March before assessing a handful of final bidders.<\/p>\n
\u201cNick Candy is actively exploring a number of options for a potential bid for Chelsea,\u201d his spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny bid would be made in conjunction with another party, or consortium, and we have serious interest from several international partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Candy has a huge affinity with Chelsea. His father was asked to play for the club and he has been watching matches at Stamford Bridge since the age of four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelsea announced plans for a new 60,000-seater stadium on the Stamford Bridge site in 2015 but the project was\u00a0put on hold\u00a0indefinitely three years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club deserves a world-class stadium and infrastructure and Mr Candy\u2019s unique expertise and background in real estate would be a hugely valuable asset to delivering this vision,\u201d added the statement.<\/p>\n
Abramovich initially said he intended to give\u00a0\u201cstewardship and care\u201d\u00a0of Chelsea to its foundation trustees, but then decided to sell the club completely with\u00a0the threat of sanctions\u00a0hanging over him following the invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich has denied having close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
Who has announced their bid to buy Chelsea?<\/strong><\/p>\n Only some of the interested parties or bidders have come forward so far:<\/p>\n Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly<\/strong><\/p>\n Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US businessman Todd Boehly have formed part of a consortium to try to take over Chelsea.<\/p>\n Wyss told Swiss newspaper\u00a0Blick\u00a0last week that he had been offered the chance to buy the club.<\/p>\n The 86-year-old, worth an estimated \u00a33.9bn, added that Abramovich wanted \u201cto get rid of Chelsea quickly\u201d after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament.<\/p>\n Boehly, who is a part-owner of Major League Baseball\u2019s Los Angeles Dodgers, was previously linked with a takeover of Chelsea in 2019.<\/p>\n Muhsin Bayrak<\/strong><\/p>\n Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak says he is one of those to have launched a bid to buy the club, adding \u201cwe will fly the Turkish flag in London soon\u201d.<\/p>\n Bayrak is chairman of AB Grup Holding, which he founded in 1999, and has investments in crypto currency, construction, tourism and energy sectors.<\/p>\n Sources close to Bayrak told BBC Sport he is determined to buy Chelsea and his lawyer will be in London for talks on Thursday.<\/p>\n Others<\/strong><\/p>\n Other parties reported to be interested include\u00a0New York Jets owner Woody Johnson\u00a0and a\u00a0Saudi Arabia-based consortium.<\/p>\n British billionaire\u00a0Jim Ratcliffe<\/strong>, who owns Ineos and bought\u00a0French club Nice in 2019, has previously shown interest, but will not seek to purchase Chelsea because he does not see it as good value.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n