U.S. investor completes $5.4bn Chelsea FC takeover

Chelsea Football Club is under new ownership, with U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital behind the $5.4bn takeover

Signed, sealed, delivered. The Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium have been chosen as the preferred bidder, after a lengthy sale process.

The Chelsea Football Club believes “the Board and the Boehly/Clearlake group have a shared vision for the future of Chelsea Football Club.”

The club announced the news after months of doubts and legal uncertainty because of Russian sanctions rules.

Former owner Roman Abramovich has now completed the sale and ended his 19-year reign of the company.

The west moved to sanction Russia and its people, including oligarchs living abroad, amid the war in Ukraine. 

Abramovich was then sanctioned by the UK Government, meaning the club operated within the constraints of the General Licence, until a new owner was found.

The sanctions also presented unique and unforeseen challenges to the sale process, and the selection was extremely thorough, with the club sifting through 250 bids.

In order to complete the transaction, the club needed approvals from all stakeholders and the U.K. Government. 

The money from the purchase will eventually go to a humanitarian charity to help the victims after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich will not benefit from the sale, despite pouring millions of his own wealth into the club.