Serena Williams has emerged as a key financial backer of a consortium led by former Liverpool FC chairman Sir Martin Broughton to takeover Chelsea football club.
According to Sky News the 23-time Grand Slam champion is said to have committed £10M towards the proposed bid following talks between her and the group. F1 star Lewis Halminton is also said to be investing the same amount of money. A Sky source said the addition of the two athletes was a serious investment decision due to ‘their experience of building global sports brands.’
The addition of Williams to the bid once again expands her elaborate financial portfolio. She is the mastermind behind Serena Ventures LLC which focuses on investing in the early stages of companies. As of March 2nd $111M has been raised for the fund, according to Williams. Earlier this week it was confirmed that she has invested a ‘seven-figure sum’ into sports marketing technology startup OpenSponsorship (OS).
It is reported that Williams was persuaded to contribute towards the Chelsea bid due to its diversity of global investors. They include Canada’s Rogers family, American philanthropist John Arnold, Taiwan’s Tsai family and billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo.
Under the plans Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) would have the controlling stake in Chelsea. HBSE is owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer who also have an 18% stake in Crystal Palace football club. Meaning they will need to change their current investment in order for the Chelsea plan to go ahead, according to financial regulations and rules of the sport.
Even with Williams’ investment, there is still no guarantee the bid will succeed. Two other consortiums are also in the running to take over Chelsea. They are fronted by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pegliuca. Each bid is being evaluated by the club’s board and Raine Group, the US merchant bank overseeing the auction on Roman Abramovich’s behalf.
Williams, who hasn’t played on the WTA Tour since retiring from her first round match at Wimbledon last year, is yet to comment on her involvement. The 40-year-old has hinted that she may be returning to the Tour in time for the grass swing. Although she will be without her longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou after the two decided to end their collaboration together. Mouratoglou is now coaching Simona Halep.
