Boehly, Walter sell Chelsea stakes to Clearlake — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Boehly and Walter sold their combined 25.66% stakes in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital, giving the private equity firm full control of the Premier League club after the Wednesday announcement.
- The deal values Chelsea at £5 billion ($6.7 billion) including debt, with Boehly and Walter receiving £950 million ($1.3 billion) combined, per the Financial Times.
- Clearlake, led by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, previously held 61.5% of Chelsea; Swiss philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss retains his 12.83% stake in the ownership group.
- Boehly is relinquishing the chairman role, a position he held since the 2022 consortium purchase of Chelsea for £2.5 billion from Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned over alleged ties to Putin.
- Walter last month sold the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion after acquiring them just 14 months earlier, and remains under federal investigation related to insurance companies he owns.
- Chelsea, currently 6th in the Premier League under new manager Xabi Alonso, says there will be no changes to day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy under Clearlake's full ownership.
Why it matters: Clearlake now has unchallenged control over a club valued at £5 billion ($6.7 billion), ending a fractious co-ownership that ESPN reported had escalated into mutual buyout attempts in 2024. Boehly's exit as chairman removes the most visible American face of the consortium that acquired Chelsea from sanctioned oligarch Roman Abramovich for £2.5 billion in 2022.
Ask SkimNews
