Chelsea agree sale with LA Dodgers' Boehly

Chelsea have agreed terms to sell the club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team.

The £4.25bn deal, which will require approval from the English football authorities and the UK government, is expected to be completed in late May.

The sale can only be signed off once the bidder has passed the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.

A statement from Chelsea, published at 1:37am UK time on Saturday, said that the new owners will pay £2.5bn for the club’s shares and the proceeds will go into a frozen bank account to be donated to charity.

Boehly is also part-owner of the Dodgers, US women’s basketball team the Los Angeles Sparks, and owns a stake of NBA franchise LA Lakers.

But the majority of the shares will be owned by Clearlake Capital, a Californian private equity firm. Other investors include US billionaire Mark Walter, also co-owner of LA Dodgers, and Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss.

The consortium say they will invest £1.75bn into the club which will go towards “Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea foundation”.

Chelsea are currently operating under a special licence from the UK government, which ends on May 31.

CHELSEA STATEMENT IN FULL

Chelsea football club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the club.

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% to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.

UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

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 sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time.