Chelsea Football Club has agreed with terms on the £4.25bn ($5.2bn) sale of the club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly.

The club was put up for sale before owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned for his alleged connections to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, following the country’s invasion on Ukraine.

According to a statement released by Chelsea, the new owners will pay £2.5bn for the club’s shares. The proceeds will go into a frozen bank account to be donated to charity.

Who are the Other Owners?

The consortium is led by Boehly but Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm, would own a majority of the shares in Chelsea. Other investors include US billionaire, Mark Walter, also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers, and Swiss billionaire, Hansjoerg Wyss.

The consortium disclosed that it will provide £1.75bn to invest in the Premier League club, including “investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation”.

In the statement, Chelsea noted that the sale is expected to be completed in late May 2022. The takeover will require approval from the English Football Authorities, as well as the UK government. Chelsea is currently operating under a special licence from the UK government which is expected to end on May 31, 2022. But last month, April 2022, Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, intimated that the club was on “borrowed time” to complete the sale.

An Offer for any new Owner

Any sale can only be signed off by the bidder passing the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.

According to Forbes, Boehly, an American investor and businessman, has a reported net worth of $4.5bn (£3.6bn). He is a part-owner of the Dodgers, a US Baseball franchise, and US women’s basketball outfit, the Los Angeles Sparks, and owns a stake in the renowned LA Lakers NBA franchise. His consortium also includes American PR Executive, Barbara Charone, British businessman, Jonathan Goldstein and British Journalist, Daniel Finkelstein.

Other Bidders

Other consortiums who were also in the race to buy Chelsea have been headed by Sir Martin Broughton and the co-owner of the Boston Celtics, Stephen Pagliuca. However, they were told in late April 2022 that their bids were unsuccessful. The reason for their bid being turned down was not made known.

British billionaire, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the majority shareholder of the chemical group, Ineos (a British multinational chemicals company headquartered and registered in London), made a late offer, but it arrived on April 29, 2022, several weeks beyond the initial deadline for all bids slated for March 18, 2022. Ratcliffe’s bid was dismissed but he said on May 4, 2022, that he was “not giving up”.

On Thursday, May 5, 2022, Abramovich said he has not asked for his £1.5bn loan to Chelsea to be repaid when the club is sold. A spokesperson said Abramovich “remains committed” to making sure the proceeds from the sale “go to good causes”.