Clearlake Capital Closing In on Buyout of Boehly and Walter's Chelsea Stakes

Clearlake Capital is reportedly closing in on a deal to buy out the Chelsea stakes held by co-owners Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, a move that would take the private equity firm's ownership of the club to roughly 87%.

Clearlake currently holds a 61.5% majority stake in Chelsea, with Boehly, Walter and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss each owning 12.8% of the remaining shares. Talks between the parties have gathered momentum in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times, with Boehly and Walter valuing the club at more than £5 billion, a substantial rise from the £2.5 billion the consortium paid to purchase Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in 2022.

The move would effectively end years of boardroom tension between the two camps, with restrictive clauses in the original 2022 ownership agreement limiting Boehly and Walter to selling their stakes only to Clearlake or Wyss during the first decade of ownership. Boehly's five-year term as chairman is set to conclude this year regardless, with leadership due to transition to Clearlake next May. Walter's willingness to exit comes shortly after he agreed to sell his stake in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers for $12 billion, though it remains unclear whether Wyss intends to sell alongside his partners.