Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams invest in bid to buy Chelsea

Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton have agreed to invest an estimated £20m into a consortium to buy Chelsea.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner and the seven-time Formula One champion are part of a group of investors who are backing Chelsea’s takeover offer spearheaded by Sir Martin Broughton.

The former Liverpool and British Airways chairman has the backing of the two global sport stars who have each pledged £10m to the bid. Lord Coe is also part of the British-led consortium.

Hamilton, who is an Arsenal fan, and Williams have both become established investors in recent years.

Serena Ventures, the tennis star’s venture capital fund, invested in Opensponsorship – a British-based sports technology start-up – this week while Hamilton has recently backed the London-based rapid grocery delivery app Zapp.

Sky News report the reason for Hamilton and Williams’ inclusion in the consortium was because of their experience at building global sports brands, while the diversity of the consortium’s roster attracted the pair to back the bid.

Broughton’s consortium also has the backing of American private equity billionaires Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer who would control a majority stake in the club if their bid is successful.

The pair currently have shares in Crystal Palace and would be required to sell them if they were to take over Chelsea.

Other investors who are a part of Broughton’s bid include the Canadian Rogers family, the Tsai family of Taiwan, and brewing magnate Alejandro Santo Domingo.

Source: Eurosport