Mark Walter and Todd Boehly ‘in talks’ to sell Chelsea shares to Clearlake Capital — reports

Chelsea’s ownership structure could get quite a bit simplified in the near future as the Financial Times reports that Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are “in talks” to sell their stakes in the club to majority owners Clearlake Capital (i.e. Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano).

The private investment firm partnered with Boehly and Walter (and Hansjörg Wyss) to form the consortium that bought the club from Roman Abramovich in the sale forced by the UK government four years ago. As things stand, Clearlake own a little over 60 per cent (61.5%) while the other three split the remainder just about equally. It’s unclear if Wyss is also looking to sell his stake.

Boehly and Eghbali were named co-controlling owners despite the unequal ownership structure, but over the years, some clear ideological divides had opened up between them over just about every aspect of the operation, including players, head coaches, and stadium plans. Rumors last year claimed that both sides were looking to buy out the other before a quiet truce appeared to be struck, though with Boehly taking an even farther back seat than he had already been taking.

Away from Chelsea, Walter has come under financial scrutiny over some of his prior dealings, and he’s been selling off assets like hotcakes. He recently divested from the LA Lakers, for example, among other investments (though not the Dodgers ….yet?). There is no insinuation of Boehly being under any sort of investigation, but without Walter, he might as well cash in now. The Telegraph claim that a deal between Boehly and Clearlake could value the club at “over £5b” (i.e. at least twice the sale price in 2022), which would just about see Boehly double his original investment as well. Not bad for a job terribly done.