Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly has reportedly entered talks to sell his stake in the club to majority owner Clearlake Capital.
A report from the Financial Times claims that Boehly, also the co-controlling owner, and Mark Walter have begun discussions regarding the sales of their 12.8 per cent stakes in Chelsea. The potential deal would value the club at over £5billion.
An agreement would resolve the tensions within the club’s ownership group, which took control at Stamford Bridge in 2022.
Boehly, Walter and Clearlake and Hansjorg Wyss purchased Chelsea for £2.5bn in May 2022, with their BlueCo consortium committing to an investment of a further £1.75bn.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Boehly and Walter now value the club at £5bn, with that figure reflected by the valuation of their respective shares.
Private equity firm Clearlake owns a majority 61.5 per cent stake in the club, with the rest split equally between Walter, Boehly and 90-year-old Wyss.
It has previously been claimed that Clearlake and Boehly would be prepared to buy each other out. Additionally, it has also been said that Clearlake would be willing to purchase any of the shares belonging to its consortium partners.
Walter last week agreed to sell the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12bn (£9.4bn), with that sale coming as he faces scrutiny from the US attorney’s office.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US attorney’s office and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched an investigation into how billions in loans extended to firms with links to Walter or his TWG Global holding company ended up on the books of insurance businesses after going through a third entity.
“Mark Walter and TWG have always acted in good faith, and those who have done business with Mark know him as honest and straightforward,” TWG Global said in a statement.
“We are cooperating with authorities, and we are confident these matters will be resolved favourably.”
There has as yet been no indication that the sale of the Lakers is tied to the investigation. Boehly was part of Walter’s deal to take majority control of the Lakers last year, but it has not been disclosed if he retains an interest in the franchise following the sale.
Boehly and Walter, who are also co-owners of MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, are thought to be limited to selling their shares to either Clearlake or Wyss due to clauses inserted in the deal to take over Chelsea, which are believed to prevent major shareholders from selling to outside investors in the first 10 years of ownership.
This year is the last of Boehly’s five-year spell as chairman, with the role set to switch to Clearlake next May. Clearlake duo Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano work alongside Boehly as co-controlling owners, with key decisions requiring approval from all three men.
