{"id":1105592,"date":"2019-09-09T18:22:09","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T17:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1105592"},"modified":"2019-09-09T18:22:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T17:22:09","slug":"ineos-considered-chelsea-newcastle-takeover-nice","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/ineos-considered-chelsea-newcastle-takeover-nice\/","title":{"rendered":"Ineos boss reveals he considered Chelsea and Newcastle takeover bids before Nice purchase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ineos\u00a0Football\u2019s chief executive Bob Ratcliffe has revealed the petrochemicals firm explored the possibility of buying either Chelsea or Newcastle United prior to their takeover of Nice.<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of last month, Ineos,\u00a0founded by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, purchased the Ligue 1 outfit and immediately outlined their intentions to help guide the club into Champions League football.
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Ineos’ purchase of Nice: Five things to know…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Nice were bought by chemicals firm Ineos at the end of August for\u00a0\u20ac100m (\u00a388.77m).<\/li>\n
  • The company was founded by\u00a0Britain\u2019s third-richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.<\/li>\n
  • Ratcliffe\u2019s brother, Bob, is the chief executive of the company’s ‘Ineos\u00a0Football’ group.<\/li>\n
  • He has now revealed\u00a0Ineos spoke to Chelsea about a possible take-over but the two party’s respective valuations were ‘significantly’ apart.<\/li>\n
  • Bob\u00a0Ratcliffe says\u00a0Ineos also looked at Newcastle but the valuation on Tyneside deterred their interest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7360490-squawka-talker-special-champions-league-2019-20-preview<\/p>\n

    However, the story could have been different, with\u00a0Ratcliffe’s brother Bob explaining how Premier League clubs made it “pretty difficult to rationalise” investing in top-flight English football.<\/p>\n

    Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live\u2019s Sportsweek, he said: “It was\u00a0pretty difficult to rationalise purchases in the Premier League at this time for us.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe\u2019d obviously been looking at Premiership clubs as well. We spent quite a lot of time looking at Premier League clubs.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe looked at the valuation of Premiership clubs and \u00a35b in revenues for the Premier League and top six clubs being valued at \u00a32bn and upwards, and \u00a3450m\u00a0of net profit before tax.<\/p>\n

    \"European<\/a>

    READ MORE: Done deals you may have missed on European deadline day<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

    \u201c[It\u2019s]\u00a0pretty difficult to rationalise purchases in the Premier League at this time for us and then, if you look below the top six, they\u2019re all \u00a3150m and above and you\u2019re going to write a cheque for \u00a350m and get in the \u2018Everton Cup\u2019.”<\/p>\n

    Bob Ratcliffe went on to explain how the firm were in contact with Chelsea about the possibility of a take-over but the likelihood of new ownership in west London immediately faded once it became apparent just how much\u00a0Roman Abramovich was valuing the club.<\/p>\n

    \u201cNo. There was some exchange, but we were a long way apart on valuation,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t recollect how far it was, but it was significant.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was early exchanges and the issue with Chelsea as well is that it\u2019s got a stadium issue and we\u2019re all getting older and that\u2019s a decade of your life to resolve that.\u201d<\/p>\n