The Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium has finalised the acquisition of Chelsea, succeeding Roman Abramovich as the club owner.
Chelsea confirmed in April that the Boehly-Clearlake consortium was their preferred bidder, with Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton’s companies missing out from the sale.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe made a last moment proposal, which was rejected because it did not follow the selling process. He bypassed the Raine Group and went directly to Chelsea for the deal.
The Boehly-Clearlake group was formally declared as the new owner of Chelsea, beating its rivals in a £4.25 billion purchase.
The consortium was confirmed to have passed the Premier League Owners’ and Directors’ Test, and the UK Government authorised the acquisition of Chelsea, with the Blues officially announcing the agreement.
Chelsea announced on their official social media handle, “Roman Abramovich has completed the sale of Chelsea Football Club and related companies to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
“This sale process commenced on 2 March, when Mr. Abramovich announced his intention to sell the Club after 19 successful years of ownership. In selling the Club, Mr. Abramovich stipulated that the new owner must be a good steward of the Club, the net proceeds of the sale must be donated to charity, and that he would not seek the repayment of loans made to affiliates of the Club.
“Following this announcement, the Board of Directors and senior staff at the Club immediately commenced work on the sale transaction. Raine, a global merchant bank chosen by the owner to run the sale process, has significant expertise and experience advising premium sports clubs on mergers and acquisitions and advised the owner and the Club in the process.”
The sale had previously been called into question due to Abramovich’s lack of promises about where the proceeds of the transaction would go, with the UK Government wanting to ensure that the Russian-born would not profit.
These fears were allayed when ministers approved the transaction, with Boehly now controlling the Blues for a minimum of ten years after Chelsea included a provision guaranteeing ownership until 2032.
Chelsea may again sell goods, tickets, and engage in transfer discussions after the restrictions were lifted.