THE TELEGRAPH
Todd Boehly believes his working relationship with Chelsea co-owners Clearlake Capital is at breaking point and that a resolution must be found to avoid a civil war at Stamford Bridge.
Clearlake and Boehly are prepared to buy each other out. Boehly and his partners are said to have sufficient resources to fund a full takeover but Clearlake has insisted it will not sell any shares.
Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano own Clearlake, which co-owns Chelsea with Boehly, the American billionaire, who also has a stake in the LA Dodgers.
As reported by Telegraph Sport, Clearlake is adamant it will not sell any of its 61.5 per cent stake and will not allow Chelsea to go up for auction again – silghtly more than two years since Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club.
It has emerged that Boehly that believes he can quickly raise more than £2.5 billion to make an offer to Clearlake that would also give the company, Chelsea’s majority shareholder, a profit on its initial investment.
Investors are said to be ready to back Boehly, who is believed to have a 20 to 30-year vision for Chelsea that would include a new stadium. But an offer, however big, could fall on deaf ears if Clearlake maintains its not-for-sale stance.
Clearlake views its investment in Chelsea as a decade-plus commitment and wants to increase its stake, while Boehly sees his involvement as lasting up to three decades.
But a cultural divide has opened up between Chelsea’s co-owners and Boehly has come to the conclusion that the club’s structure has become untenable and a resolution needs to be found as soon as possible.
Boehly’s owns 38.5 per cent of the club, split equally between himself, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter, who have invested around £1 billion of their own money.
There is said to be no prospect of Boehly selling his stake on its own to Eghbali and Feliciano, so Clearlake would also have to buy out Wyss and Walter at a total cost of more than £1.5 billion, to enable both to make a profit.
As part of their co-ownership contract, Clearlake and Boehly have matching rights and blocking options if either side puts their stake in Chelsea up for sale or attempts to sell to a third party.
