Chelsea is being acquired for 2.5 billion pounds (about 2.9 billion euros) by a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly. The football club reports this on Saturday a statement† Chelsea has thus found a successor for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who ended up on a British sanctions list because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was therefore no longer allowed to remain a club owner. Boehly will also invest 2 billion euros in the club, according to Chelsea.
Reported last week British media even that bankruptcy was imminent, but with the sale deal the future of Chelsea seems to be saved. The new group of owners – in addition to Boehly including investment company Clearlake Capital, American businessman Mark Walter and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss – will transfer the billions to charities, because Abramovich is not allowed to earn from the sale due to the sanctions. According to Chelsea, the 2 billion in extra investments will go to the Stamford Bridge stadium, the youth academy and the women’s team.
The British government and the Premier League still have to approve the takeover of Chelsea. The club expects the deal to be completed by the end of May. When this is done, Chelsea will become the tenth club in the Premier League to be wholly or partly American-owned. Arsenal and Manchester United, among others, already have American owners. Nineteen years ago, Abramovich himself became one of the first foreign owners of a Premier League club. He invested billions in Chelsea, which won the Champions League twice during his period and became champions five times.
Boehly, 48, is the founder of the investment fund Eldridge. He is also co-owner of the American baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers and he owns more than a quarter of the shares of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball club. business magazine Forbes estimates Boehly’s wealth at about $4.5 billion (2.27 billion euros).