Premier League side Chelsea have confirmed that a consortium led by Todd Boehly has signed a contract to purchase the club from Roman Abramovich in a deal worth £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion).
Abramovich, who purchased the club in 2003 and oversaw their growth into one of Europe’s elite soccer clubs, put his interest in the team up for sale in March shortly before he was sanctioned by the UK government in the wake of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
A statement issued by Chelsea overnight said that the club’s new owners will pay £2.5 billion ($3 billion) to purchase a controlling stake – with the proceeds to go into a frozen bank account and donated to charity.
On Friday night, Chelsea asked its community manager to work overtime. In the middle of the night, the London club released a statement expected for many weeks. The Blues confirmed the purchase agreement with Todd Boehly and the consortium he leads, for the sum of 4.65 billion pounds, or 5.4 billion euros. “Of the total investment that will be made, 2.5 billion pounds (2.9 billion euros) will be allocated to the purchase of the club’s shares, and this sum will be deposited in a frozen British bank account with the intention of donating 100% of it to charity as validated by Roman Abramovich,” the statement said.
Todd Boelhy, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball franchise, is not buying a second-hand bike on Leboncoin and will have to wait a while to get his new toy in his hands: “The sale is expected to be completed by the end of May, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. In the meantime, Chelsea still plays in the Premier League under a special license that prevents it from offering new contracts. This extraordinary license expires on May 31.
