Potential buyers for Chelsea can approach UK government - minister (updated)

Evraz

11/03/2022 07:53

(Adds details)
    LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Anyone interested in buying
Chelsea Football Club can approach the British government and
make a proposal, the government said on Friday after it
sanctioned current owner Roman Abramovich and halted his planned
sale of the club. 
    "As the license conditions are written today, the sale would
not be allowed," Britain's technology minister Chris Philp told
Sky News. 
    "However, if a buyer emerged it would be open to that buyer
or to that football club to approach the government and ask for
the conditions to be varied in a way that allows that sale to
take place." 
    The government, which has been under pressure to ramp up
sanctions on Russian oligarchs after Moscow's invasion of
Ukraine late last month, imposed a travel ban and froze the
assets owned by Abramovich on Thursday.
    The announcement effectively brought to a halt his
recently-announced plans to sell the West London football club,
which he had expected to fetch more than three billion pounds
($3.93 billion).  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2V62D4
    Separately, London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz  EVRE.L ,
in which Abramovich is the largest shareholder with a 28.6%
stake according to Refinitiv Eikon, said on Friday its entire
board had quit.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2VE1L4

($1 = 0.7643 pounds)

 (Reporting by William James; writing by Muvija M)
 ((Muvija.M@thomsonreuters.com; within the UK: +44 7776813338,
outside the UK: +91 80 61822698; Twitter: https://twitter.com/muvija_m;))