Football Business Desk
full acquisition · England · Premier League

Chelsea FC

Todd Boehly / Clearlake Capital-led consortium acquisition · 7 May 2022

Buyer
Todd Boehly / Clearlake Capital-led consortium
Seller
Fordstam Limited (Roman Abramovich)
Stake acquired
100%
Control
Yes
Reported consideration
€2.92bn
Implied equity value
€2.92bn
League
Premier League
Country
England
Confidence
HIGH
Transaction overview

Todd Boehly / Clearlake Capital-led consortium acquired 100% of Chelsea FC from Fordstam Limited (Roman Abramovich), announced 7 May 2022, closing 30 May 2022.

Reported consideration was €2.92bn. That implies a 100% equity value of €2.92bn (calculated by us). A further €2.05bn was announced as an investment commitment.

Nearest pre-acquisition revenue was €507m (FY 2020/21), an equity value / revenue multiple of 5.77x.

Announced
7 May 2022
Closed
30 May 2022
Stake after transaction
100%
Status
completed
Valuation

Reported consideration

What the buyer reportedly paid for the stake

REPORTED

Implied 100% equity value

Calculated: consideration ÷ stake acquired

CALCULATED

Reported club valuation

UNAVAILABLE

Enterprise value

Only shown when debt/cash near the transaction date is established

UNAVAILABLE

Debt assumed / restructured

UNAVAILABLE

Primary capital injection

UNAVAILABLE

Total announced investment commitment

Commitments are not purchase price and not valuation

REPORTED
Equity value / revenue:
CALCULATED
Club at acquisition

Nearest pre-acquisition financial year: 2020/21

Revenue

FILED

Wages

UNAVAILABLE

EBITDA

UNAVAILABLE

Net debt

UNAVAILABLE

Net income

UNAVAILABLE
Analyst noteWhat is known, what is uncertain, and how figures were derived

Core facts (buyer identity, joint Boehly/Clearlake control, 100% stake, completion on 30 May 2022) are confirmed via Chelsea FC's and Clearlake's own completion statements, which notably disclose no price. The widely cited £2.5bn share consideration and separate £1.75bn investment commitment come from consistent, high-quality media reporting (Sky Sports, ESPN, Variety) rather than a primary filing, so both are marked REPORTED rather than CONFIRMED.

Sources (7)
  1. 2022-05-30 — “Fetch via search snippet: consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital Group L.P. announced completion of ownership transfer; consortium includes Hansjörg Wyss and Mark Walter; Boehly and Clearlake share joint control.”

  2. 2022-05-30 — “"Boehly and Clearlake will share joint control and equal governance of the Club. Boehly will serve as Chairman of the holding company." No purchase price disclosed in the statement.”

  3. 2022-05-30 — “Total investment cost £4.25bn, with £2.5bn being the sale price of the club, and a separate agreement for £1.75bn to be invested over 10 years.”

  4. 2022-05-30 — “Confirms £4.25bn total figure combining £2.5bn purchase price and £1.75bn investment commitment, and completion of the takeover ending Abramovich's 19-year ownership.”

  5. 2022-05-30 — “Confirms completion date of Monday, May 30, 2022 and consortium composition; separately, Sky Sports reporting identifies Chelsea's parent company as Fordstam Limited, Abramovich's holding vehicle (used here in place of the unverifiable 'Fomboro' name).”

  6. 2021-12-01 — “"The group turnover figure increased to £434.9m from £407.4m the previous year driven by the Club's Champions League success." Loss of £153.4m for the year.”

  7. 2022-05-07 — “Reports agreement signed May 7, 2022; used for announcement_date only as could not be independently re-fetched (search snippet only), corroborated by multiple other outlets reporting the same May 7 signing date.”