CLEARLAKE CAPITAL takes majority stake in Chelsea Football Club

Clearlake Capital Group finalizes the acquisition of full control over Chelsea Football Club, valuing the professional sports franchise at an enterprise value of . Formally announced in September 2026, this definitive ownership transition enables Clearlake Capital Group to consolidate its initial 61.5 percent controlling interest into absolute corporate ownership. The financial architecture of this buyout involves the direct purchase of the combined 25.6 percent ownership stake previously held by outgoing chairman Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter, a transaction executed for 950 million pounds (equivalent to approximately 1.3 billion United States dollars). The overall valuation explicitly includes existing corporate debt, which stood at less than 1.4 billion pounds as of June 2025. Following the completion of this equity transfer, Hansjörg Wyss retains his status as an important stakeholder within the ownership group, continuing to hold a 12.83 percent stake in Chelsea Football Club. This strategic consolidation marks a definitive shift from the initial 2022 consortium buyout, which originally extracted the London-based sports entity from former owner Roman Abramovich. The strategic rationale articulated by Clearlake Capital Group focuses on streamlining corporate governance and accelerating long-term infrastructure investments across Chelsea Football Club. The acquiring investment committee explicitly intends to allocate fresh capital towards stadium infrastructure upgrades, elite sporting performance analytics, and specialized player development pathways. The transaction guarantees that the day-to-day operations, coaching staff, and strategic leadership at Chelsea Football Club will remain completely uninterrupted. To orchestrate this high-profile cross-border sports transaction, the involved parties mandated a massive consortium of specialized financial and legal advisors. Clearlake Capital Group retained The Raine Group, BDT&MSD Partners, and BofA Securities to manage the buy-side financial engineering, alongside Sidley Austin LLP acting as exclusive legal counsel. Conversely, the selling consortium of Todd Boehly and Mark Walter mandated Evercore, led by Simon Robey, as the lead financial advisor, supported by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. Legal structuring for the sellers was executed by Latham & Watkins LLP, with Winston Taylor LLP providing additional counsel directly to Mark Walter, while Macfarlanes LLP structured the legal perimeters for Hansjörg Wyss.