Clearlake Capital to acquire Walter and Boehly stakes in Chelsea — CNBC — CNBC Top News
Investment firm Clearlake Capital will acquire the stakes of Mark Walter and Todd Boehly in Chelsea Football Club and gain full control of it. CNBC reports, citing a club statement.
Change in ownership structure
Before the deal, Clearlake Capital owned 61.5% of Chelsea. Mark Walter and club chairman Todd Boehly each held approximately 12.8% stakes. Boehly, who is also a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, will step down as Chelsea chairman.
According to the Financial Times, Walter and Boehly will jointly receive £950 million, or about $1.27 billion, for their stakes. The publication valued Chelsea at £5 billion as part of the deal.
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss will remain an important shareholder and partner in the ownership group, according to the club's statement. Chelsea also said that the deal does not entail changes to the club's day-to-day management, leadership or strategy.
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Plans of the new owner
Clearlake Capital co-founders Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano thanked Boehly for his work as chairman. They noted that Clearlake has been Chelsea's majority owner since 2022 and, after taking full control, plans to continue investing in the club's infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and the team's long-term success.
Context regarding Walter
The sale of the stake in Chelsea comes more than a month after reports of Walter's agreement to sell a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers basketball club to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger.
CNBC also reports on a federal criminal investigation and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into whether approximately $21 billion in investments by two insurance companies controlled by Walter — Delaware Life Insurance and Clear Spring Life and Annuity — were properly disclosed. The issue concerns the possible classification of these transactions as transactions with affiliated or related parties. Walter's holding company, TWG Global, denied fraud in a statement on August 26 and said it was prepared to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC to resolve their inquiries.
