As well as his investment in Chelsea, Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries controls over £150bn worth of assets across a dizzying array of sectors.
Most Blues fans will be aware that the 51-year-old also owns stakes in NBA franchise LA Lakers and Major League Baseball’s current World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers, pumping billions into each.
Boehly even wrote the most lucrative contract in sports history with the Dodgers, committing to pay Shohei Ohtani £534m over the next 12 years.
New Dodgers owners of Guggenheim Baseball Management, LLC - (from left) Stan Kasten, Mark Walter, Earvin Magic Johnson, Peter Guber, and Todd Boehl...
Photo by Chris Williams/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Boehly and his investment vehicles are also hold major interests in the media and finance sectors, but it is clear that the private equity billionaire’s true passion is in sport.
It is also probably the most demanding element of his investment portfolio. It is certainly the most heavily scrutinised – particularly his co-ownership of Chelsea.
Boehly has become the public face of the regime at Stamford Bridge despite the fact his stake is actually a relatively modest 13 per cent.
Diagram illustrating the ownership of Chelsea, split between factions led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali
With no word that tensions between Bohely and Behdad Eghbali have subsided, his status as a minority partner will make the pathway to a mooted full takeover difficult to traverse.
Eghbali and his Clearlake Capital group hold the high card in those negotiations.
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Given that Eghbali and Clearlake have no real need to increase their stake, the likeliest outcome as present is a stand-off.
In any case, the owners will be loath to do anything that risks upsetting the rhythm of Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea side who have lost just twice in the Premier League this season.
So, it looks like Boehly is staying put for now.
In fact, pictures taken during Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa might suggest that the Maryland-born businessman could be set to spend even more time in London from here on out.
Todd Boehly and Jonathan Goldstein at Stamford Bridge ahead of latest big-money sports investment
While Boehly and Eghbali are undeniably the highest profile corporate figures at Chelsea, the pair’s respective factions are made up of dozens of investors and executives.
One of those is Jonathan Goldstein, who was named on the club’s board of directors after the takeover in May 2022.
On Sunday, Boehly and Goldstein were pictured alongside on another in the directors’ box at Stamford Bridge ahead of the Villa clash.
In isolation, the chairman and director attending the game together would be unremarkable.
However, the latest news from the world of sports business suggest that the pair may not have been there purely to take in the game.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Goldstein – whose Cain International group commands over £10bn worth of assets – was interested in buying a stake in Hundred cricket franchise London Spirit.
It was later reported that Boehly was also on board in the bid, which is part of a wider round of private investment in the Hundred expected to raise around £650m.
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The links between the consortium looking to buy into London Spirit and Chelsea don’t end there.
The sales process is being handled by Raine Group, the merchant bank who have become one of the biggest names in sports business in recent years.
If that name sounds familiar, it is probably because Raine Group helped broker the Boehly-Clearlake takeover of Chelsea two-and-a-half years ago.
Both Boehly and Goldstein are understood to enjoy a solid professional relationship with Raine Group.
Chelsea Co Owners Behdad Eghbali, Todd Boehly during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on Septem...
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
That could count in their favour as the auction process evolves.
If negotiations end in Boehly and Goldstein being installed as co-owners of the Hundred franchise, expect the pair to spend more time in London in the coming months and years.
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