Clearlake Capital, already the majority owner of Chelsea Football Club, has agreed to buy out the stakes of chairman Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter. This deal, announced late Wednesday, brings an end to a turbulent period among the club's owners, with the transaction giving the club an enterprise value of approximately £5 billion ($6.7 billion).
Boehly and Walter are selling their combined 25% stake for an estimated $1.3 billion, meaning each will receive around $650 million. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss also sold his minority holding, giving Clearlake - led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano - full control of the club. Boehly, Walter, and Wyss each held a 12.8% stake, while Clearlake previously owned 61.5%.
Boehly will step down from his role as chairman, a position he held since 2022 when the consortium, including Clearlake, purchased the club for £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) from Roman Abramovich. The sale follows reports of a rift among the ownership group that emerged in 2024. Despite the challenges, Chelsea achieved a fourth-place finish in the Premier League in 2024-25 and won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup that same season. The club also recently finished 10th in the Premier League and appointed Xabi Alonso as manager this summer.
Boehly expressed gratitude for his time as chairman and confidence in Chelsea's future under Clearlake's leadership. Eghbali and Feliciano thanked Boehly for his contributions, reaffirming their focus on investing in the club's infrastructure, sporting performance, and player development. The deal comes amid investigations by US federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission into companies within Walter's business empire.
