The American businessman is reportedly one of a number of parties having lodged bids for Chelsea and appears to have the wealth to potentially do a deal
American businessman Stephen Pagliuca has reportedly lodged a bid for Chelsea. Co-owner of NBA outfit Boston Celtics, the 67-year-old is apparently interested in becoming Roman Abramovich’s successor at Stamford Bridge following the Russian’s decision to put the club up for sale.
Whilst he was not mentioned ahead of the deadline for bids set by the Raine Group last week, it appears that he managed to table his offer before the deadline. Sky News have reported that he lodged a bid, although it is unclear whether he intends to buy the club on his own or whether he has joined with other interested parties.
It is also suggested that should he not make the shortlist of preferred bidders, he could potentially aim to join forces with one of those selected by Raine to progress to the next stage of negotiations. That might well be required considering Pagliuca’s net worth.
According to Wallmine, he is currently valued at approximately $3.87billion (£2.9billion) dollars having built up his fortune via a number of lucrative business ventures throughout his career. He is a private equity investor, whilst acting as the co-chairman of Bain Capital – an investment firm based in Boston.
Meanwhile, Pagliuca also has a very successful portfolio within the sports sector. He is currently managing general partner and member of the executive committee of NBA side Boston Celtics. The American is also a member of the board of governors for the NBA itself.
Earlier this year, he also was part of a group acquiring a controlling stake in Serie A outfit Atalanta and was named as co-chairman of the Italian club. It of course remains to be seen whether Pagliuca’s bid for Chelsea will be deemed acceptable by Raine but it is clear that he is faced with plenty of competition.
However, a number of interested parties have already dropped out of the race for the reigning European champions. The Saudi Media Group have been informed that they are not one of the preferred bidders, whilst Woody Johnson’s bid also appears to have failed.
