Chelsea owner Todd Boehly sells stake as Clearlake takes full control of club

Chelsea have announced that Clearlake Capital Group will buy the minority stakes of co-owners Todd Boehly and Mark Walter to assume full control of the club.

It means the exit of American ⁠billionaire Boehly, who operated as chairman and played a hands-on role in the post-Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge, including a number of big-money signings for the Blues.

Reuters suggested that the deal could be worth around £950 million ($1.27 billion).

Clearlake, which was co-founded by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, has joined forces with a third minority owner, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, to acquire the remaining stakes in the club, which add up to about a quarter of the club.

“Clearlake intends to ​continue ⁠building on the strategic course ‌the club is now on and realising the ambition that the ownership group has developed together," Chelsea said in ‌a statement.

"There will be no changes to the day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy at the club." Boehly, Walter, Wyss and Clearlake bought Chelsea in May 2022 from the previous owner, ⁠Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, in a deal reported by British media to be worth £4.25 billion.

Eghbali and Feliciano added: “Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as chairman.

“He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family. Clearlake has served as Chelsea’s majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the club’s infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the club’s supporters.”

Boehly, who is also the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, said it had been an honour to serve as club chairman.

"I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership ‌group, and the collective decisions and investment we ​have made to support the immediate and long-term ‌success of the Club," he ⁠said in the statement.

"I am confident that Chelsea `is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake's leadership." Chelsea are currently sixth ‌in the Premier ​League after two wins, a ‌draw and a loss to ​start the new season.

The news comes just a month after Walter sold the Los Angeles Lakers in a record $12.5bn deal.