Chelsea is set to get a new owner as the
club said that Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly won the bid to buy the
club at a worth of $5.2 billion (£4.25 billion). The Premier League football
club was forced to sell after the Russian oligarch who bankrolled its success
was placed under crippling sanctions.

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“The sale is expected to complete in
late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals,” the football club
said in a statement late Friday.

Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich had put the Premier League club on sale in March after he was sanctioned by the
British government following the invasion of Ukraine.

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

Boehly’s group of investors includes fellow
Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss and US
investment firm Clearlake Capital. Boehly owns stakes in the MLB’s Los Angeles
Dodgers, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

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UK government approval would be required
for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account, the club
said.

“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,”
the Chelsea statement said.

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“Of the total investment being made,
£2.5bn 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,” it
said.

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

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The new owners will also commit £1.75
billion in further investment for the benefit of the club, Chelsea said.