In the United Kingdom and a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly (pictured) has reportedly inked the world’s second-richest deal for a sports team in agreeing to buy Chelsea FC for a rumored $3.09 billion.
According to a Monday report from Forbes, the group also containing California-based Clearlake Capital Group LP as well as Swiss medical devices magnate Hansjoerg Wyss could well take over ownership of the Premier League side by the end of the month. The source detailed that the arrangement has already been given the green light by the soccer team’s current owner, heavily-sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, and is now only awaiting regulatory approvals.
Pricey purchases:
Should it be completed at the reputed price and the arrangement for the London-based club would reportedly be overshadowed only by the $3.2 billion Canadian billionaire Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai paid for the Brooklyn Nets franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in September of 2019. The cost to take over the reigning UEFA Champions League champion would purportedly moreover represent an around 27% boost on the $2.42 billion hedge fund manager Steve Cohen paid a little over two years ago for a 95% stake in Major League Baseball’s New York Mets.
Lucrative list:
Chelsea FC was reportedly last year assessed as the planet’s seventh-most-valuable soccer side at about $3.2 billion, which was a score that put it below only Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. The group now preparing to take over has furthermore purportedly agreed to spend approximately $2.16 billion on renovating the team’s 40,800-seat Stamford Bridge home and fulfilling a range of other investments such as doing up the nearby Kingsmeadow stadium utilized by its women’s squad.
Basketball connection:
Forbes described the deal for Chelsea FC, which additionally involves American investment banker Mark Walter, as akin to the 2014 purchase of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks franchise by a group led by Marc Lasry and Wes Edens. This earlier consortium purportedly stumped up $550 million encompassing the assumption of $125 million in debt while agreeing to spend at least $100 million towards building a new arena not included in the enterprise value.
Recent resurrection:
Established in 1906, Chelsea FC has enjoyed a stunning period of success since its around $173 million purchase by Abramovich in 2003. The English side subsequently went on to win five Premier League titles, three EFL Cups, five FA Cups and booking a pair of Community Shield wins while tasting success abroad with two UEFA Champions League trophies, a pair of UEFA Europa League triumphs and the 2021 FIFA World Club Cup.