Wayne Lumbasi
The sale of Chelsea to a consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly has been approved by the UK government and the Premier League as Roman Abramovich’s 19 years running the west London club moves closer to its end.
Approval from the Premier League was granted first, with the government pushing for legal guarantees from Roman Abramovich that he would not financially benefit from the sale after being sanctioned.
The total investment will cost $5.2 billion with $3.2 billion ending up being the sale price of the club, while there is an agreement in place that $2.1billion will be invested over 10 years.
The purchase agreement was signed a fortnight ago and has been waived through by the Premier League Owners’ and Directors’ test, while the government has now facilitated the financial transaction.
The confirmation came late on Tuesday, with a spokesperson confirming that Boehly’s takeover is now ready to be formally processed. Boehly is now set to become Chelsea’s controlling owner, with California investment firm Clearlake Capital becoming the majority shareholder.
The sale process started in March, with over 200 parties interested in buying the club. Raine Group were in charge of the process and narrowed things down for the club.
Chelsea was put up for sale by departing owner Abramovich in March – just days before he was sanctioned by the UK government for allegedly having ties with Vladimir Putin, something he denies. President Putin’s Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February and a disastrous war has raged in Eastern Europe ever since.
Chelsea have effectively been operating under a transfer embargo ever since Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government for his close ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
The club have also been hit with restrictions on ticket sales and travel costs over the past few months, and a number of players – albeit indirectly – have chosen to leave the club at the expiry of their contracts with Chelsea.
