The True Blues Consortium, a fans’ group fronted by former Chelsea captain John Terry, also endorsed Pagliuca’s bid. A statement also said B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly, venture capitalist Jim Breyer and entrepreneur Div Turakhia were involved in trying to buy Chelsea. “Once we started speaking, it was clear that we share the same long-term vision and goals for Chelsea.”įormer Disney CEO Bob Iger and wife Willow Bay, a journalist, are also behind Pagliuca’s bid along with Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife, Elaine, a businesswoman. “The decision to partner with Steve was an easy one as we share similar values and passion for sports,” Tanenbaum said in a statement. Tanenbaum’s investments are through MLSE and he is also chairman of the board of governors of the NBA. Pagliuca has provided the most details about who is backing his interest in Chelsea, which could be sold for 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) given the interest that has emerged since Abramovich put the west London club up for sale six weeks ago. There are also bids from Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, a consortium featuring Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, and another group fronted by former Liverpool and British Airways chairman Martin Broughton involving Josh Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and has a stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace. They face three rivals bidders for Chelsea, which was put up for sale by sanctioned Russian oligarch owner Roman Abramovich after the war on Ukraine was launched by President Vladimir Putin.
Tanenbaum, who was announced Wednesday as joining as co-managing partner of the bid, is chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and has ownership stakes in Toronto with the NBA’s Raptors, the NHL’s Maple Leafs and Toronto FC, the city’s MLS team. The bid for Chelsea launched by Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca has added Canadian sports tycoon Larry Tanenbaum ahead of Thursday’s expected deadline for improved offers for the Premier League club.