Chelsea FC announced that a group led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly had agreed to buy the London club for £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion).
“The sale is expected to close in late May, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals,” the football club said late Friday in a statement.
“More details will be provided at that time,” it added.
Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea put the Premier League club up for sale in March, just days before he was sanctioned by the British government following the invasion of Ukraine.
Raine Group, the New York bank in charge of the Blues’ sale, chose Boehly and his fellow investors after a lengthy bidding process involving several groups.
Among Boehly’s investors are Dodgers co-owner 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,” said a statement from the club.
“Of the total investment, £2.5 billion will be used to purchase the Club’s shares, and the proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank donating 100 percent to charitable causes, as confirmed by Roman Abramovich,” the statement said.
“For the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account, UK government approval will be required.”
Chelsea also announced that the new owners would commit £1.75 billion in additional investment for the club’s benefit.
Chelsea was forced to operate under a special government license after Abramovich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the European Union for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin
Abramovich will not profit from Chelsea’s sale, but he has already pledged to write off the club’s £1.5 billion debt and to donate all proceeds to Ukrainian war victims.
There had been concerns about the club’s future if a sale was not completed before the license expired on May 31.
Chelsea was not permitted to offer new contracts to existing players or sign players from other clubs under the terms of the license.
The sale of the European champions brings to an end Abramovich’s 19-year run of nearly unbroken success, which includes five Premier League titles and two Champions League triumphs.
After initially embarking on a long winning run following Abramovich’s decision to sell the club, Chelsehasve struggled to find their best form recently.
They suffered a painful Champions League quarter-final defeat at Real Madrid after nearly pulling off an epic comeback from a 3-first-leg deficit.
Chelsea’s place in the top four of the Premier League is also far from assured.
