September 17 – Clearlake Capital has taken full control of Chelsea after agreeing to buy Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, drawing a line under an ownership structure that had become too difficult to juggle.
According to the Financial Times, the deal, worth around £950m for the pair’s combined 25% stake, values Chelsea at around £5bn, including debt.
Boehly will also step down as chairman, four years after becoming the public face of the consortium that bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for £2.5bn in 2022.
Clearlake already owned 61.5% of the club but shared control with Boehly under an unusual governance arrangement agreed at the time of the takeover. That balance is now gone.
Hansjörg Wyss will remain an investor, so Clearlake is not buying 100% of Chelsea’s equity. The big change is control: the private equity group, led by Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano, will now have the final say on the direction of the club, which has zigzagged since the 2022 takeover.
The club said there would be no immediate changes to day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy.
The deal also ends a relationship that had become increasingly strained. In 2024, Clearlake and Boehly were exploring ways to buy each other after disagreements over the direction of the club, with the future of Stamford Bridge one of the biggest issues between them.
That stadium issue is still hanging over Chelsea, who are well behind their Premier League rivals in terms of capacity and matchday revenue, while the options of rebuilding Stamford Bridge or moving elsewhere have huge cost and planning complications.
Eliminating the split at the property level should at least make this decision easier.
Boehly said: “It has been an honor to serve as chairman of Chelsea Football Club. I would like to thank many who helped secure a bright future for the club, including the English Premier League, the managers and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea and the legions of dedicated fans.
“I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the club’s immediate and long-term success. I am confident that Chelsea is well-positioned for continued success under Clearlake’s leadership.”
Chelsea changed hands for £2.5bn four years ago, with another £1.75bn pledged to invest in the club. The latest transaction values the business at around double the original purchase price, although significant additional capital has since been brought in, particularly through the transfer market.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
