Tensions are now rising behind the scenes at Chelsea with investors looking to buy Todd Boehly out of the club.
The Blues were previously purchased by American private equity firm Clearlake Capital and a consortium led by businessman Todd Boehly.
The two sides joined forces, under the name BlueCo, to complete a massive $5.6 billion takeover of the club in 2022. Although it has just been two years since the deal, reports suggest that their relationship has deteriorated.
Bloomberg is reporting that both Clearlake and Boehly are currently exploring ways to buy each other out. Boehly has essentially become the public face of the club over the last two years.
Nevertheless, Clearlake, led by co-founder Behdad Eghbali, actually owns a higher percentage of Chelsea than the businessman. The firm holds a majority stake in the Blues of about 61.5%.
The relationship between the two groups has soured in recent months. Intense spending on players mixed with poor results on the pitch has exacerbated the situation.
Since the takeover, Chelsea brass has spent nearly $1.4 billion on a plethora of new players. Despite this, the club has not reached the lucrative Champions League with BlueCo at the helm.
Failure on the field, however, is not the only issue with the current ownership. The two sides also reportedly have different ideas regarding recruitment.
A lack of overall progress on building a new stadium has caused anxiety within the club as well. The team’s current home, Stamford Bridge, is currently the oldest stadium in the Premier League.
Boehly believes he can raise enough money to buy Clearlake’s shares
Due to Chelsea’s embarrassing early struggles under BlueCo, Boehly was expected to take a step back from the club. Nevertheless, he is now exploring ways to raise the appropriate funds to buy out Clearlake.
The Telegraph is reporting that the businessman believes he can come up with $3.2 billion to cover a potential deal.
Clearlake, however, has no intention whatsoever to sell their shares of the West London club. In turn, the firm is hoping to buy Boehly’s portion instead. The American businessman and his partners, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter, own the remaining 38.5% of the Blues. Shares between the trio are currently split evenly. Boehly’s two partners have already invested almost $1.3 billion in the club.
Assuming Boehly holds firm, Clearlake could very well target the shares owned by Wyss and Walter. If so, the firm would likely have to offer the duo nearly $2 billion. It remains to be seen if Clearlake will go this route but Boehly would have the opportunity to at least match the offer under a previous agreement.
Civil war looms as both investment groups look to stand pat
If the situation remains the same and both parties remain at the helm, a potential civil war may erupt at Chelsea. At the moment, the two sides have remained professional with each other. Nevertheless, the two aforementioned reports suggest that there are irreconcilable differences between Clearlake and Boehly.
This, unfortunately for the fan base, seems the most likely scenario right now. Both sides do not seem willing to back down and want to remain in place. Boehly recently told Bloomberg that he and his partners were “laying a long-term foundation, establishing a great leadership team, and responding to the environment.”
Chelsea currently has just one win in their opening trio of Premier League matches so far this season. The Blues will next face Bournemouth when the international break ends on Saturday, September 14th.
Photo credits: IMAGO / Sportimage
