Todd Boehly agrees price to buy Chelsea, but the takeover saga isn't done yet
- Seb Sternik
- 7 May 2022
The long-awaited Chelsea takeover has taken a step closer towards fruition after the Todd Boehly consortium agreed a price for the Premier League club. Question is, what happens next?
US business tycoon Boehly and his consortium partners successfully saw off stiff opposition to strike a £4.25billion deal to purchase Chelsea.
The consortium was given a significant boost last month, with former British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca joining the bid.
Boehly and his partners were able to broker a deal with New York merchant bank, the Raine Group, who are overseeing the sale process on behalf of the football club.
Chelsea announced the agreement on Saturday, with the club looking ahead to a new era under new ownership.
While the financial agreement was made, there are still more hoops for the Boehly-led consortium to get through. Here, we look at the next steps.
Owners' and directors' test
In the next stage of the sale process, Boehly and his partners will need to pass the Premier League's owners' and directors' test.
The purpose of the test is to outline the requirements which would prohibit an individual or a consortium from becoming an owner or director of a club.
The test came under recent scrutiny following Newcastle United's Saudi-led takeover.
Once this is out of the way, Chelsea will also need the UK Government to sign off the sale before granting a new licence in order to make the takeover official.
Possible problems
Under the current sanctions, current Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is not allowed to profit from the sale.
The Russian-Israeli billionaire has previously pledged to donate all proceeds to a charitable foundation which would aid victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, the UK Government would first need to ratify Abramovich's plans,
It is also understood that the 55-year-old wishes to write off his £1.5billion loan to Chelsea. As things stand, the current sanctions against the billionaire would block such move. However, Chelsea and the Government are expected to find a resolution once the Boehly takeover has been completed.
What happens if the deal falls through?
Unless everything is signed, sealed and delivered, there is still the possibility that the deal could collapse.
In such scenario, Chelsea and the Raine Group could turn to one of the previous bidders.
While a collapse does seem unlikely at this moment in time, Broughton's bid would be expected to take pole position should Boehly hit problems.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could also enter the picture following his last-ditch offer last week.
