Todd Boehly’s £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea has moved a step closer to completion after the Premier League gave the green light.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, the league confirmed the consortium led by Boehly has passed the owner’s and directors test.
“The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Consortium,” the statement read.
“The purchase remains subject to the Government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.
“The Board has applied the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT) to all prospective Directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence. The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, LP, Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
“Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant Governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover.”
It was always expected that the Premier League would approve the deal, as its focus is on the investors rather than on whether Roman Abramovich benefits in any way from the sale.
That is the concern of the Government and the process still needs to be signed off at that level after weeks of talks. Earlier this month, Abramovich released a statement through Chelsea denying reports that he had asked to be repaid the £1.5bn debt that he is owed.
A deadline of May 31 has been set by the Government, which is when the special license the club are operating under expires. Approval from the European Commission is also required due to Abramovich’s status as an EU citizen.
“We are working closely with Chelsea to progress the sale,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Tuesday.
“We are holding intense discussions with the relevant international partners to get the necessary approvals and we will set out further details as soon as we can.
“We want to get this process done as soon as possible while also ensuring the sanctions regime is protected, but we will say more on this as soon as we possibly can.”
Both Boehly and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel are understandably keen for the takeover to be completed as soon as possible to put an end to 12 weeks of uncertainty, with the German already admitting the club is at a “huge disadvantage” in the transfer window due to restrictions currently in place.
