(Football news) Todd Boehly’s consortium has agreed to buy Chelsea Football Club from Roman Abramovich. Announced by the club on Saturday, the proposed deal is subject to approval by the UK Government and the Premier League before its completion, with the formalities expected to close by late May. The consortium is led by the LA Dodgers’ part owner and has the backing of Clearlake Capital, a US investment firm.
In a statement released by Chelsea, the club said “Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women's Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation."
The Blues had a deadline of May 31st to find new owners as the Government license to operate the club would have expired after that. The Raine Group, hired by current owner Roman Abramovich has been overseeing the takeover and were responsible in choosing the preferred bidder, subject to the government granting a special license for the sale of the Premier League club. Chelsea would need a license before June 8th in order to compete in England’s top flight as the Premier League will meet on the date to constitute the new season.
Other potential owners were the Pagliuca consortium, who were told that they were out of running at the end of last month while the Broughton consortium – led by former Liverpool and British Airways chairman Sir Martin, billionaire Crystal Palace shareholders Dave Blitzer and Josh Harris as well as Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams were still in contention. The Ricketts family, who are the owners of Chicago Bulls, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin and US investment bank Lazard were also interested in buying the club but pulled out in March.
Roman Abramovich had denied multiple reports claiming that he is looking to alter the deal for the repayment of his £1.5billion loan to Chelsea FC, reaffirming that proceeds from the sale of the club will be given to charity for "all the victims of the war in Ukraine". In a statement released by Roman Abramovich, a spokesperson said “Firstly, Mr Abramovich's intentions in relation to gifting the proceeds from the Chelsea sale to charity have not changed. Since the initial announcement, Mr Abramovich's team has identified senior representatives from UN bodies and large global charitable organizations who have been tasked with forming a Foundation and setting out a plan for its activities. The lead independent expert has had conversations with Government representatives presenting the structure and initial plans.
"Mr Abramovich has not been involved in this work and it has been managed independently by experts with years of experience working in humanitarian organizations. Secondly, Mr Abramovich has not asked for any loan to be repaid to him – such suggestions are entirely false – as are suggestions that Mr Abramovich increased the price of the Club last minute. As part of Mr Abramovich's objective to find a good custodian for Chelsea FC, he has however encouraged each bidder throughout this process to commit investing in the Club – including in the Academy, Women's team, necessary redevelopment of the stadium as well as maintaining the work of Chelsea Foundation."
The spokesperson added in the statement: "Following sanctions and other restrictions imposed on Mr Abramovich by the UK since announcing that the Club would be sold, the loan has also become subject to EU sanctions, requiring additional approvals. That means that the funds will be frozen and subject to a legal procedure governed by authorities. These funds are still earmarked for the Foundation. The Government is aware of these restrictions as well as the legal implications. To be clear, Mr Abramovich has no access or control of these funds and will not have any access or control of these funds following the sale. Despite the changing circumstances since his initial announcement – he remains committed to finding a good custodian for Chelsea FC and making sure the proceeds go to good causes."
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