Chelsea agree sale to Boehly consortium for record $5.2 billion

Chelsea confirmed on Saturday that a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly has won the battle to buy the Premier League club in a £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion) deal.

Owner Roman Abramovich put Chelsea on the market in early March, just days before he was sanctioned by the British government following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After a lengthy bidding process involving several groups, Boehly and his fellow investors were picked by Raine Group, the New York bank overseeing the sale.

Boehly's consortium includes a fellow co-owner of the Dodgers baseball franchise, Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital.

"Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the club," they said in a statement.

"Of the total investment being made, £2.5 billion will be applied to purchase the shares in the club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 percent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.

"UK government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account."

In addition, the new owners will commit £1.75 billion in further investment "for the benefit of the club", Chelsea said.

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.

Chelsea's 42,000-capacity Stamford Bridge home is in need of major redevelopment to match the stadium size and income streams enjoyed by their rivals.

But Boehly has a track record of delivering both stadium improvement and sporting success with the Dodgers.

Thanks to heavy investment in players, the Dodgers have made the MLB (Major League Baseball) playoffs every season for the past nine years and won their first World Series for 32 years in 2020.

Boehly's consortium still needs to satisfy the Premier League's owners' and directors' test, but Chelsea said they expect the sale to be completed by the end of the month.

Boehly is expected to attend the Premier League clash with Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust said it welcomed the club's announcement.

"We will continue to hold close discussions with the prospective owners," it said in a statement. "We are optimistic about the future of #CFC. We hope that the sale is completed swiftly."

Asian markets rallied Thursday following a Wall Street surge after the Federal Reserve played down chances of a huge interest rate hike in the near future, while oil extended gains as the European Union moved to ban imports from Russia.

US central bank officials announced an expected half-point lift in borrowing costs-the biggest since 2000 -- as part of its battle to rein in inflation, while unveiling a timetable to offload its vast bond holdings.

However, traders were given some much-needed cheer when boss Jerome Powell said a 75 basis-point rise, which had been flagged by many observers, was not "not something the committee is actively considering".

While he flagged more 50-point hikes to come, the news fuelled a rally on Wall Street, where all three main indexes piled on around three percent thanks to a surge in tech firms, which are most susceptible to higher rates.

"This was a reflection of relief, as investors came into the meeting fearful that the committee would be overly aggressive in tightening monetary policy," said Clara Cheong, of JP Morgan Asset Management.

She added that if inflation began showing signs of slowing, it could allow the Fed to be less aggressive as it treads a fine line between containing prices and nurturing the pandemic economic recovery.

"It remains to be seen if the Fed can pull off this fine balancing act and orchestrate a soft landing, but for now we believe that the US economy is in a strong enough position to weather higher rates," Cheong said.

"There is still, however, a risk that an overly aggressive approach can run the risk of tipping the economy into a mild recession in 2023."