The Ricketts Family has announced that they will not be lodging a final bid to buy Chelsea, formally withdrawing themselves from the process.
Despite being selected as one of four candidates to remain in the race, interest from the family has not been welcomed by the vast majority of Chelsea supporters due to previous discriminatory emails sent by Joe Ricketts.
However, it has been now been revealed that the owners of the Chicago Cubs will not persist with the efforts to take over from Roman Abramovich, although not because of protests from any fans or supporter groups.
An official statement read: "The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert Group has decided, after careful consideration, not to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC.
"In the process of finalising their proposal, it became increasingly clear that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around the sales process.
"We have great admiration for Chelsea and its fans, and we wish the new owners well."
US merchant bank Raine Group will now decide between a consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, a consortium headed by former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and a bid fronted by Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
Darren Plant
