Chelsea has officially completed the sale of the club to the consortium led by Todd Boehly, bringing an official end to Roman Abramovich’s highly successful 19-year reign as the club’s owner.
The west London club said on Saturday that the consortium containing LA Dodgers co-owner Boehly and the private equity firm Clearlake Capital are soon to be in control of the Stamford Bridge outfit.
They confirmed on Monday afternoon that the transaction had been completed.
A statement from Chelsea read: “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.”
“We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” said Boehly. “We’re all in — 100 per cent -— every minute of every match.
“Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud. Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the club for the long-term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success.
“I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen.”
The takeover had previously moved a step closer to completion on Wednesday when the UK government issued a licence which approved the deal.
Their green light for the sale came just a day after the Premier League said the consortium passed its Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
Having been chosen as the preferred bidder last month, Chelsea confirmed Boehly’s group had reached an agreement to buy the club from Abramovich for £4.25 billion on May 6.
Chelsea previously stated the Boehly group will pay £2.5 billion for shares in the club, with proceeds going to a frozen bank account to be donated to charity.
Former owner Abramovich is unable to receive money from the sale, due to sanctions imposed on him by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, was described by the government as a “pro-Kremlin oligarch”.
The west London club won every available trophy during the Abramovich regime.
They lifted 21 titles including five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, two Champions Leagues and two Europa Leagues.
Boehly, who has largely fronted the successful bid, has attended several Chelsea games since entering into the initial agreement earlier this month.
Though Boehly has been the public face of the group, which includes Conservative peer Daniel Finkelstein, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and British property developer Jonathan Goldstein, the Californian private equity firm Clearlake Capital will own the majority of the shares in Chelsea.
Boehly’s group was selected as the preferred bidder by Raine Group, the bank charged with facilitating the sale of Chelsea following Abramovich’s decision to sell in March, ahead of other consortiums led by Sir Martin Broughton, Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe also tabled a last-minute offer, having not been shortlisted by Raine, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Chelsea finished the Premier League season in third place, qualifying for next season’s Champions League. They were beaten by Liverpool in the finals of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
