Sale of Chelsea FC has been approved by the Premier League Leadership – but the takeover is not complete | UK News

The Premier League Board of Directors has approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by Todd Boehly/Clearlake Group.

However, the sale is far from final, with the sale still subject to the licensing requirements of the government and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.

But that’s another major hurdle that has been cleared, as the board has introduced the Premier League’s Ownership and Directors Test (OADT) to all potential directors and carried out due diligence. necessary.

Chelsea FC will now work with the governments involved to secure the necessary permits to complete the takeover.

The discount will come to an end Roman Abramovich19-year tenure as owner of Chelsea.

The tycoon and his advisers reach a binding agreement this month with a team majority-funded by Clearlake Capital, a California investment firm, and led by Todd Boehly, part owner of the LA Dodgers.

The former owner of Chelsea is sanctioned by the UK government on March 10, days after he put the club up for sale, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his connection to Russian President Putin.

The club was then given a strict government license to operate, and all of Mr Abramovich’s other UK assets were frozen.

Under the terms of the sanctions, Chelsea cannot make any transfers, either with existing players or external targets – but once the takeover is complete, the team will be able to operate in business. business as usual.

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Concerned about £1.5 billion loan

There are concerns about the fate of a £1.5 billion loan to the club’s parent company from Mr Abramovich.

Abramovich’s government sanction means he is unable to access the funds needed to repay a loan Fordstam owes to Camberley International Investments – a vehicle linked to the tycoon.

The loan was supposed to be repaid when Chelsea sold it.

Before being sanctioned, Mr. Abramovich said he intended to write off the debt and put the net proceeds from the sale new platform was set up to benefit the victims of the war in Ukraine.

He has confirm this is still the casealthough at one point officials stated that they did not see enough guarantees or legally binding commitments to prove this.

New owners cannot sell shares for a decade

Mr Abramovich has signed a binding agreement involving the new owner paying £2.5bn to buy his shares and committing to a future £1.75bn investment in the stadium, academy and the club’s women’s team.

Sky News recently revealed that terms of takeover would prevent Mr Boehly and his fellow investors from paying dividends or taking management fees for a decade.

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New owners will also be barred from selling any shares in the club for 10 years, as well as agreeing to strict limits on how much debt they can take on.