Chelsea anticipates a final sale announcement as UK Government approves Todd Boehly’s €4.25 Billion takeover

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Chukwu ernest Saturday, 2 November 2024, 2:38 pm

American businessman and philanthropist, Todd Boehly has joined others to acquire Chelsea Football Club after Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.

TrendyHipHop had reported that Abramovich put Chelsea on the market in early March, just before he was sanctioned by the British government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the UK government announced that it had given the green light to Todd Boehly’s proposed takeover of Chelsea football club from the sanctioned Roman Abramovich.

This was reported by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries who said she had issued a license permitting the deal late on Tuesday, shortly after it won approval from the Premier League.

Via her verified Twitter handle, Doris wrote:

“We are satisfied the proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals.

“Given the sanctions we placed on those linked to (Vladimir) Putin and the bloody invasion of Ukraine, the long-term future of the club can only be secured under a new owner”

A consortium led by Boehly, a co-owner of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, had already agreed to a record £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion) deal to buy the Premier League club from Abramovich on May 7.

The Premier League said its approval hinged on the government sale license “and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction”.

Officials wanted everything completed on Tuesday so Chelsea could meet all registration deadlines for next season’s football competitions.

Completing the purchase has been a long process due to government concerns over the potential for Abramovich to profit from the sale.

The total value of the deal smashes the previous record for the sale of a sports team — $2.4 billion for the New York Mets baseball franchise in 2020.