New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is prepared to spend big
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Clearlake Capital, the US private equity firm that owns a majority shareholding in Chelsea, is considering either buying out Todd Boehly or coming to an agreement with the billionaire that would keep him in a ceremonial role and remove his influence as a result of Chelsea’s civil war.

Boehly, who is eager to get the problem fixed, is sure he has investors willing to contribute the £2.5 billion needed to purchase Clearlake’s 61.5% holding. The mood in Chelsea’s boardroom has soured over the weekend. Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano are the owners of Clearlake, which is insistent that it has no plans to sell and is seen as doubtful that Boehly will make a compelling offer.

In exchange for financial concessions, it believes Boehly should give in or consent to changes to the club’s governance that would remove him from the board and deny him any decision-making authority.

Why Clearlake and Boehly’s marriage is at breaking point

The most significant development at Chelsea has now come to light: just over two years after majority shareholder Clearlake Capital acquired the team from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for £2.3 billion ($3.02 billion), the couple’s marriage to co-owner Todd Boehly is in ruins.

Though specific allegations of a deterioration in Boehly’s relationship with Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali, the most prominent and involved member of Chelsea’s ownership consortium over the past 18 months, have been consistently refuted up until now, there have long been murmurs of dissatisfaction behind the scenes. Boehly believes that the primary ongoing source of friction with Clearlake is a cultural mismatch in the way the co-owners conduct business. This dynamic speaks to that difference.

 

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