The consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have finally, officially, completed their multi-billion pound takeover of Chelsea, it was confirmed on Monday 30 May.
After the club was put up for sale on March 2 by Roman Abramovich, the Russian-born's 19-year ownership has come to an end.
Multiple Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and several other honours later, Abramovich has handed the baton, enforced, to Boehly and his consortium which he will be the front of.
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All of the necessary checks have been completed which saw the UK Government grant Chelsea a new licence to allow for a takeover to go through, which it now has.
Boehly, Clearlake and members of the consortium have already attended several Chelsea matches whilst waiting for the green light and formal wrap up of the sale, but now they are in, they have the keys to Stamford Bridge.
It's set to be a busy summer in west London. Both managers, Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes, have had initial conversations with the American but are expected to hold more extensive talks in the coming weeks.
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Boehly is thought to be ready to heavily invest in the side, which is backed by the legally binding agreements Abramovich asked for in the sale.
They will own the club until at the least 2032, while £1.75bn has been pledged to be invested in the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge as well as the club's teams: Men's, Women's and Academy.
Hayes was extremely complimentary of Boehly after meeting him at Cobham for the first time in May.
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“I had lunch with Todd. He watched the girls train, had a really lovely couple of hours with him. (He was) delightful, really passionate, he’s just a normal down to earth guy, really passionate about Chelsea, loves Chelsea.
“He’s as ambitious as we are and it is a perfect fit. I saw him at one of the games he went to at Stamford Bridge but he was upstairs and I was downstairs!”
As per a Premier League statement, they confirmed who the members of the consortium buying Chelsea are buying the Blues.
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So who are they? Let's meet them:
Todd Boehly - the frontman
The American billionaire is thought to be the one taking the operation control of the club. He will be in charge and given the keys to make the crucial decisions, along with the support from Clearlake and other consortium members.
Boehly will have equal voting rights despite holding a minority share in Chelsea.
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He is a part-owner of Major League Baseball side Los Angeles Dodgers.
Clearlake Capital Group
The US private equity firm, co-founded by José E. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali, will be the majority shareholder in the consortium which will see them fund most of the initial £2.5bn takeover.
They will have equal voting rights and it is believed Eghbali has been hands on throughout the takeover process, even being spotted at Stamford Bridge prior to the takeover going through.
Hansjorg Wyss
Wyss is a Swiss billionaire businessman who made his fortune through his founded company, Synthes, in the 1970s which manufactures medical devices.
The 86-year-old is an is an active philanthropist and will hold a minority share in Chelsea, and has been largely silent throughout the takeover process.
He was also at Stamford Bridge (picture below) to watch Chelsea play in person for the first time as they beat Watford on the final day of the 2021/22 season.
Mark Walter
Walter is the CEO of investment firm Guggenheim Partners and is also a part-owner, like Boehly, of the LA Dodgers.
As per Forbes, he is worth $3.8bn and is part of the team who will look to heavily invest in Chelsea.
Who else do we know?
Along with the rest of the team, they will be joined by Daniel Finkelstein and Barbara Charone. The Chelsea season ticket holders will hold non-executive director roles at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Goldstein, co-founder of Cain International alongside Boehly, opted not to take up a board role in west London but will be at the forefront of the stadium redevelopment plans.
Topics: Chelsea, Todd Boehly
Matthew Debono