August 18 – Chelsea’s divided ownership structure could be heading for a major simplification, with Todd Boehly and Mark Walter in talks to sell their stakes to majority shareholder Clearlake Capital in a deal potentially valuing the club at more than £5 billion.
Clearlake currently owns 61.5% of Chelsea, with Boehly and Walter holding 12.8% each. Despite its majority stake, the private equity group shares governance and control with Boehly’s side of the consortium under the arrangement agreed when Chelsea were bought from Roman Abramovich in 2022.
That structure has not always made for an easy marriage.
The two camps have spent much of their shared tenure at odds over the club’s direction, with the future of Stamford Bridge among the major points of disagreement. Both sides previously explored buying the other out before talks stalled.
Those conversations are now back on.
If Clearlake buys both stakes, its holding would rise to around 87%, giving Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano’s group effective control of Chelsea and removing much of the unusual shared-governance structure that has existed since the takeover.
Hansjörg Wyss, who owns a similar minority stake alongside Boehly and Walter through BlueCo, has not indicated whether he would also sell.
Walter’s position comes with a separate backdrop. US federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether businesses connected to his financial empire concealed links around billions of dollars of borrowing from insurers he controls. Walter has not been charged with any crimeand his wider group has denied wrongdoing.
He has also begun selling major sporting assets, agreeing a $12.5 billion deal to sell the Los Angeles Lakers in just 72 hours, adding weight to speculation over his motives.
Boehly’s potential exit would be the more visible change at Stamford Bridge.
He was the public face of the £2.5 billion takeover four years ago and initially took a hands-on role in recruitment before Eghbali became more prominent in the club’s day-to-day operation.
The proposed valuation has raised eyebrows. A £5 billion-plus price would put Chelsea at roughly twice the headline acquisition price paid in 2022 despite the team’s under-performance, big-spending and ballooning debt since the takeover.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at harry.ewing@insideworldfootball.com