SALE OF CHELSEA COMPLETE AS GOVERNMENT APPROVES TODD BOEHLY CONSORTIUM
After weeks of tenuous negotiations, the UK government has announced the approval of the sale of Chelsea Football Club and has issued a license for a takeover of the club by the Todd Boehly-led consortium. Final talks between the government and Chelsea went late into the night on Tuesday and it was expected any announcements around the license would be delayed until Wednesday morning.
The Premier League Board approved the club’s proposed takeover on Tuesday, the Premier League announced. The purchase, however, still remained subject to government approval and issuance of a sale license.
With government approval and the issuance of a license coming shortly after 7 am on Wednesday morning, the Chelsea takeover is now complete and the club welcomes new ownership and a new dispensation. The members of the consortium acquiring the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group L.P, Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter.
The Government said: “Late last night the UK Government reached a position where we could issue a license that permits the sale of Chelsea Football Club. Following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich, the Government has worked hard to ensure Chelsea Football Club has been able to continue to play football. But we have always been clear that the long-term future of the club could only be secured under a new owner.”
“The steps today will secure the future of this important cultural asset and protect fans and the wider football community. We have been in discussions with relevant international partners for necessary licenses required and we thank them for all their cooperation.”
Portugal and the European Commission are expected to confirm the deal this morning, having signaled to the UK that they are happy.
Proceeds from the over $5.3billion sale are expected to start changing hands almost immediately as UK ministers now draw up license amendments that will allow Chelsea to be sold as a frozen asset. Permission from the European Commission and Portugal was necessary as Roman Abramovich was also sanctioned by the European Union and had a Portuguese passport.
A Government spokesperson said: “Following extensive work, we are now satisfied that the full proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or any other sanctioned individual. We will now begin the process of ensuring the proceeds of the sale are used for humanitarian causes in Ukraine, supporting victims of the war.”
Chelsea was operating under a government license since Roman Abramovich’s assets were frozen in March. The Russian billionaire put up the club for sale on March 2nd but sanctions have fast-tracked the sale with a deal of such size and scale being whipped in just 12 weeks. The license issued to Chelsea was set to expire on May 31st which means the most lucrative sports club sale in the history of sports comes only six days before the deadline.
The completion of the sale will now allow Chelsea to restart normal club activities including transfer activity as well as signing players to new contracts, which was prohibited as part of the sanctions imposed.
According to The Telegraph, the Todd Boehly consortium has reportedly pledged to give Thomas Tuchel a massive £200million transfer budget to spend in the summer. Boehly spoke to Tuchel and the Chelsea squad on Sunday after the final-day victory over Watford and seems to be determined to get Chelsea Football Club to try and catch up to the top two teams in the country, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Chelsea finished the season in third and 19 points off the champions, Manchester City.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero