On July 2, 2003, the Roman Era officially began. It has come to an end on May 30, 2022.
Chelsea reported a couple of days prior that the Boehly-Clearlake Consortium has completed its takeover of the club, some three months after Roman Abramovich placed the club up for sale in an attempt to avoid UK Government fines.
Although the sanctions made the process more difficult, we nonetheless completed it in a timely manner, with two rounds of bidding and lots of drama along the way.
The Premier League, the UK Government, and the European Union have all given their permissions and signatures.
The £4.25 billion deal — about £2.5 billion of which will be going as seed money to a new charitable foundation benefiting the victims of the war in Ukraine — has been finalized, completed, set, signed, and delivered!
Chelsea has been operating under a special government licence that was set to expire on May 31.
Boehly expressed his “honour” and want to “make supporters proud.”
In a sale procedure that began on March 2 and included more than 250 inquiries, the consortium defeated 11 significant opponents to become the new owners.
“We are honoured to become the new custodians of Chelsea Football Club,” he said.
“We’re all in – 100% – every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.
“Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the club for the long term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success.
“I personally want to thank ministers and officials in the British government, and the Premier League, for all their work in making this happen.”
Several parties expressed interest, but Chelsea opted to sell to the Boehly-Clearlake Capital, with the Californian private equity group owning a majority of the shares in its first entry into sports.
Boehly, 48, is also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a seven-time World Series champion baseball team, the Los Angeles Sparks, a US women’s basketball team, and the Los Angeles Lakers, an NBA franchise.
He has also invested in the song rights of Bruce Springsteen, a sports betting company, and restaurant businesses.
Other investors include US billionaire Mark Walter, a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers who also has an interest in the Lakers, and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.