The Premier League could face complaints and challenges if it emerges that Crystal Palace shareholders Joshua Harris and David Blitzer are financing Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Chelsea.
Bidders are waiting to hear from Raine, the merchant bank in charge of the sale of Chelsea, over which offer they intend to progress for approval from the Government and the Premier League.
Telegraph Sport understands that a decision to advance a bid from Broughton that involved Harris and Blitzer would carry the threat of damaging delays from complaints from their rivals and other Premier League clubs.
Broughton’s offer, which was lodged on Friday night, is considered to be among the frontrunners, despite the fact that the identities of the investors behind it have been kept a secret.
Sources close to the Broughton group, which includes Lord Sebastian Coe, have not commented on reports that both Harris and Blitzer are among the investors in his consortium.
But that has not stopped rumours whirling around those close to the bidding process that Harris and Blitzer are planning to divest their stakes in Palace to try to push through Broughton’s bid for Chelsea.
Both Harris and Blitzer are said to hold stakes of around 18 per cent and there have been reports that current Palace shareholder John Textor is interested in increasing his stake in the Selhurst Park club.
It was reported that Harris and Blitzer invested an initial £50 million in Palace and rules over dual ownership would currently prevent them from investing heavily in Chelsea.
That means the pair would have to quickly divest their shares to pass through the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test. That has been noted by a number of bidders in the Chelsea sale and could attract the interest of rival League clubs.
Some groups believe that Raine should not even consider a bid that involves investors who could not currently pass the Premier League test, while others would be prepared to lodge complaints if they are progressed.
There is a feeling that allowing shareholders in one club to effectively dump their shares to pursue what could be considered a more attractive proposition could set a dangerous precedent.
It could also be argued that doing so would undermine the League’s checks on owners, given that the speed Harris and Blitzer would need to divest their shares would call into question how carefully they could decide on the right buyers.
Chelsea’s rivals have already called into question whether or not Roman Abramovich should be able to write-off his £1.5 billion loan as part of a sale and allowing shareholders in one club to jump to another to push through a lucrative seller is likely to cause more controversy.
Any complaints or challenges to the Premier League over one of the preferred bidders could be a huge problem for Chelsea, given their need for a quick and trouble-free sale because of the sanctions placed on Abramovich.
Raine had warned bidders of the need to provide certainty in their offers and stressed the desire for a sale of Chelsea to be completed as swiftly as possible.
As well as not commenting on the potential involvement of Harris and Blitzer in the Chelsea bid, the Broughton camp have not confirmed the identity of Vivek Ranadive in their consortium.
All of Broughton’s rivals have been transparent over the identities of their investors, with the Ricketts family working with Ken Griffin, Todd Boehly partnering with Hansjorg Wyys and Clearlake Capital, and Nick Candy teaming up with C&P Sports and Hana Financial. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is believed to have made a big offer for Chelsea on his own.
