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In what is a huge development, Chelsea Football Club have confirmed that they have agreed to sell the English club to a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly who are willing to pay a whopping $5.2 billion.
While club owner Roman Abramovich had put Chelsea for sale in early March and there had been various high profile names who had shown their interest in buying the Club, ultimately it is the Todd Boehly Consortium who have won the race.
It is being reported that Boehly and his fellow investors were chosen by the Raine Group and the entire length of the bidding process which involved several other groups was conducted under the supervision of the New York Bank.
"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 bid-winning group, which consists of a co-owner of the Dodgers baseball franchise, Mark Walter, Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital, said in a statement.
"Of the total investment being made, £2.5 billion 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," the statement added.
Apart from the abovementioned figures, the new owners have committed another £1.75 billion "for the benefit of the club." The total amount has shattered the previous record for the sale of a sports team. The last record was of $2.4 billion which was created when the new owners had broken their bank for the purchase of the New York Mets baseball franchise two years ago.