Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Consortium have had their £4bn takeover of Chelsea approved by the Premier League.
07.05.2022 - 04:33 / deadline.com
A group led by Todd Boehly, who also owns a stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, dick clark productions and who is currently the caretaker CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has agreed to terms to acquire the English soccer club Chelsea in a deal worth almost $5 billion.
If approved by the UK government and the Premier League, the sale price would be the most ever paid for a sports franchise. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times are pegging the price at around £4.25 billion, which the club mostly confirmed late Friday. Deadline’s sister publication Sportico also has details of the deal.
Chelsea FC, in a statement tonight, said that “Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100% to charitable causes as confirmed by [former owner] Roman Abramovich. UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.”
It added that “the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in [the team’s stadium] Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.”
The club said it expects the sale to the U.S.-born Boehly to be completed by month’s end.
The London-based soccer power, the reigning UEFA Champions League title-holder, has been the subject of a speedy sale and auction after previous longtime owner Abramovich was forced to end his ownership because of the Russian oil magnate’s perceived close ties to Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine. Abramovich, who has said he
Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Consortium have had their £4bn takeover of Chelsea approved by the Premier League.
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Naman Ramachandran A consortium led by Todd Boehly has struck a deal reportedly worth £4.25 billion ($5.24 billion) to acquire top English Premier League soccer club Chelsea FC, one of the highest price tags ever agreed for a sports club in history.Boehly owns holding company Eldridge, which owns MRC and Dick Clark Productions, producers of Hollywood’s popular Golden Globes Awards, and serves as interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which operates the awards. He is also an owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks.The others in the consortium are Clearlake Capital, real estate magnate Jonathan Goldstein, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and Mark Walter, CEO, Guggenhiem Partners, with whom he has stakes in the Dodgers and Lakers.