Who is Todd Boehly, the future owner of Chelsea?
« In life, when you think about the last act that has arrived, you often realize that the play cannot be understood without its epilogue ». By this theatrical maxim borrowed from Richard Joly, understand that the soap opera of the sale of Chelsea Football Club, currently pointing to third place in the Premier League, is finally coming to an end. Through a press release, published this Saturday, the London club has just announced a takeover agreement with the consortium led by Todd Boehly. “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the club”can we read in particular.
The lucky winner of a record sale!
In exchange for a check for 4.25 billion pounds, or 5 billion euros, Todd Boehly will therefore become, subject to the approval of the British government and the Premier League which should arrive at the end of the month of May, the new owner of the London club. Entered into exclusive negotiations for several days, the American billionaire was therefore preferred to Stephen Pagliuca, holding shares in the American basketball franchise of the Boston Celtics and the Italian football team Atalanta Bergamo, Sir Martin Broughton, former president Liverpool, or Jim Ratcliffe, author of a last minute offer. But who is the future boss of the Blues?
Co-owner of the LA Dodgers American baseball and Los Angeles Lakers basketball franchise, Todd Boehly is also backed by contributions from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and British entrepreneur Jonathan Goldstein. With a fortune estimated at 4.2 billion, the 46-year-old American businessman is also a majority member of Eldridge Industries, a holding company headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Finally, he has also been the interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association since October 2021. Determined to invest in sport and more particularly in football, Boehly entered into exclusive negotiations on December 14 to buy a majority stake in MLS team Washington Spirit.
Todd Boehly does not know failure!
Very close to finalizing the takeover, the American finally withdrew from negotiations on January 12, 2022. With Chelsea, he will finally have realized his dream. Born into a family of German origin, Todd Boehly grew up in the United States. An excellent student, he notably graduated in Maryland, in 1991, at the Landon School in Bethesda, an establishment that has since been renamed « Boehly Family Wrestling Room » in tribute to the success of the future owner of the Blues. A member of the school’s wrestling team, he also won the university championship in 1990 and 1991. Ambitious, he graduated, five years later, in the field of finance, at the London School of Economics and began to work, in parallel, to gain experience in the financial sector.
Whether at Citibank and then at Credit Suisse First Boston, Boehly thus developed its know-how before joining Guggenheim Partners in 2001. Within this global financial services, investment and advisory company which is committed to investment banking, asset management, financial market services and insurance services, the American businessman rose through the ranks to become president. Eventually, he scaled up in 2015 when he invested in some of the assets he collected at Guggenheim, including The Hollywood Reporter, Dick Clark Productions, and Security Benefit to found his current company, Eldridge Industries.
“I think being diversified really helps us weather economic cycles”, he explained last year. Owner, moreover, of a technology company, more than present in real estate investment and active in the food industry, Todd Boehly has therefore gradually built an empire. An impressive career leading him, today, to get his hands on the Chelsea Football Club of Thomas Tuchel, reigning European champion and destined for very good years. What’s more, with, at its head, a billionaire ready to prove, once again, his qualities as a manager and his overflowing ambition.
Club Statement.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 7, 2022
