Clearlake takes full Chelsea control in £950m Boehly and Walter buyout

Clearlake Capital has agreed to acquire the Chelsea stakes held by Todd Boehly and Mark Walter for around £950m, consolidating control of the Premier League club in a transaction valuing it at approximately £5bn including debt.Boehly and Walter each held around 12.8% after joining Clearlake and Hansjörg Wyss in the £2.5bn acquisition of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in 2022. The transaction is expected to complete before the end of the year.Boehly said: “It has been an honour to serve as Chairman of Chelsea Football Club. I would like to thank the many who helped secure a bright future for the Club, including the English Premier League, the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans.“I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the Club. I am confident that Chelsea is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake’s leadership.”Boehly will step down as chairman, while Walter will also exit his investment. Both are also selling their interests in Chelsea’s multi-club partner Strasbourg.Wyss will remain a minority shareholder and important member of the ownership group, while Clearlake, led by Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, will assume full control of Chelsea.Clearlake said: “Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as Chairman. He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family.“Clearlake has served as Chelsea’s majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the Club’s infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the Club’s supporters.”Clearlake already owned 61.5% of Chelsea but shared significant governance rights with the minority investors, creating a structure in which economic ownership and control were not entirely aligned.That arrangement became increasingly strained, with Boehly and Eghbali holding different views over elements of Chelsea’s long-term strategy, most notably the future of Stamford Bridge.Chelsea have been assessing whether to redevelop their existing home or pursue a new stadium elsewhere, one of the largest capital decisions facing the club.Consolidating control should simplify that process by removing a major source of disagreement within the ownership structure.The £5bn valuation includes Chelsea’s debt, which stood at just under £1.4bn as of June 2025, as well as other commitments and cash generated through player trading.Clearlake is expected to fund the acquisition using its own capital alongside significant direct investment from Eghbali and Feliciano, without raising additional debt specifically to finance the purchase.Investors who supported the original Chelsea acquisition are also expected to receive the opportunity to increase their exposure as co-investors.The price represents a substantial increase on Chelsea’s £2.5bn headline takeover valuation in 2022, although the original transaction also included commitments to invest another £1.75bn into areas including the stadium, academy, women’s operation and playing squad.Boehly and Walter are expected to realise a modest profit on their investment.Walter’s exit follows the sale of his controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers in a US$12.5bn transaction, while businesses connected to his wider financial empire have been under scrutiny from US authorities.Chelsea said there would be no immediate change to day-to-day leadership or strategy following the ownership transition.The larger strategic questions now sit firmly with Clearlake, particularly how aggressively they invest in Stamford Bridge, training infrastructure and the wider BlueCo model while managing a club that recently reported a £262.4m annual pre-tax loss.The buyout ends the divided governance structure established in 2022 and gives Eghbali, Feliciano and Clearlake clearer authority over Chelsea’s next phase, with the stadium project likely to become the most important long-term test of that control.