Chicago Cubs owners and Ken Griffin join forces in bid to buy Chelsea

• Ricketts family says offer for club will be made on Friday
• Family link up with hedge fund billionaire Griffin

The owners of the Chicago Cubs, the Ricketts family, are preparing to launch a bid for Chelsea after joining forces with the billionaire hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin.

Interested parties have until Friday to submit takeover proposals to the Raine Group, the bank handling the process, and the Ricketts have said they will make their offer to buy the club from Roman Abramovich before the deadline. Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel Asset Management and is valued by Forbes at $26.5m (20.2m).