The fast-track purchase of English football club Chelsea for 2.5 billion pounds (C$4 billion) — the highest price ever paid for a sports team — was finalized on Monday by a consortium led by the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Todd Boehly.
It ends the successful 19-year tenure of Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who was forced to sell the club in March after being sanctioned by the British government for his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin , responsible for the invasion of Ukraine.
The government revealed that the proceeds from the sale will be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
“We are honored to become Chelsea Football Club’s new goalkeepers,” said Boehly, who has attended some of the team’s games in recent weeks.
Chelsea have been operating under government license since Abramovich’s assets were frozen in March. The Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium was one of some 250 interested initial buyers, the club said, and the list was narrowed down to 12 credible offers and then a shortlist of three finalists.
“Many described the proposed transaction as ‘unprecedented’, and it was,” Chelsea said. A transaction like this would normally take nine months to a year to complete; we did it in less than three months. »
The UK government approved the sale last week after ensuring Abramovich could not profit from it. The proceeds will be transferred to a frozen account and then used “to support relief and reconstruction efforts in Ukraine as soon as possible”, the government said.
The Boehly Group has pledged to invest an additional £1.75 billion (C$2.8 billion) in Chelsea’s men’s, women’s and academy teams and in infrastructure, such as the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge.
The consortium also includes Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and funding from private equity firm Clearlake.