Premier League has confirmed that the board approved Chelsea’s proposed acquisition by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Consortium.
Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Boehly had already agreed a £4.25bn purchase of the Blues, with Roman Abramovich’s ownership tenure poised to end after 19 years.
The Premier League issued a statement on Tuesday evening, stating that the Board of Directors had approved the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Consortium’s proposed takeover at Chelsea Football Club.
“The Government will issue the sale licence required and must complete all necessary steps to purchase the property.
Sportsmail reported Monday that the last details are being worked out due to Roman Abramovich’s Portuguese passport. This means the Portuguese authorities must approve the takeover.
Ministers met with Portuguese and European Commission counterparts in order to obtain the guarantees they require to agree to the deal.
Although government sources believe that the Chelsea deal will be reached on Tuesday night, they said “it’s going down to wire”
Sources said that they believe all parties will now be ready to issue necessary licenses.
“The club is currently discussing the last technical details. This will be the final hurdle. This will be the final hurdle.
Premier League has approved Todd Boehly’s proposal to take over Chelsea
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom confirmed that talks had been initiated with “international partners” to push for the sale of Chelsea.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister confirmed earlier that the Government has been in talks with “international partners” for helping to move the Chelsea sale forward.
The official spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated that they are in close contact with Chelsea to move the sale forward.
“We are in intense talks with international partners to secure the required approvals. More details will be provided as soon we can.
“We are trying to expedite this process while protecting the sanctions regime, and we’ll be able to say more about it as soon we can.”
Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich has hoped for some time to have been able to satisfy Government expectations on how to handle his £1.5billion loan to Chelsea.
Boehly was present at a few Chelsea matches toward the end of this season
According to reports, the 55-year old is confident that these demands were met. This would allow Downing Street to finally sign off on the sale.
Premier League added that: “The Board applied the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT), and performed the necessary due diligence.
Clearlake Capital Group L.P. affiliates Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss are the Consortium members that purchased the club.
“Chelsea FC” will work now with relevant governments to obtain the required licences for the takeover.
Once the takeover has been completed, Boehly of America will be Chelsea’s controlling owner. Clearlake Capital however will own the majority.
Boehly’s takeover consortium will end the 12-week-long saga started by Abramovich putting the Blues on sale March 2.
Chelsea players and staff discovered that the club was being bought at Kenilworth Road amid preparations for their FA Cup fifth round match at Luton.
In spite of obvious distractions the Blues triumphed 3-2. Abramovich made a statement, pledging that he would write off all club’s debts and establish a foundation to help victims of the conflict in Ukraine.
Chelsea can’t buy match tickets or players from other clubs until this takeover is complete.
Thomas Tuchel was able to meet Boehly last week at the Cobham training grounds.
The UK Government then sanctioned Abramovich on March 10. Downing Street said that it had proved his connection to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea was placed under strict Government Operating Licence, and all Abramovich assets in the UK were frozen.
The Blues will soon be back in business after Boehly has been taken over. This will allow them to continue their normal operations.
Chelsea couldn’t conduct any transfers with existing players or targets.