The government issued a license late on Tuesday for Todd Boehly and other investors to buy the team. The deal went through despite the multiple sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich and other Russia-linked businessmen connected to the London team, which plays in the first tier of English football.
Boehly — who owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team as well as a stake in the L.A. Lakers basketball team — leads the takeover consortium, which is backed by private equity giant Clearlake Capital Group LP, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and Mark Walter, chief executive of Guggenheim Partners.
Nadine Dorries, the U.K. culture secretary, said Wednesday in a tweet that the government was satisfied that the license did not infringe on sanctions imposed on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin insiders and billionaire oligarchs.
"Given the sanctions we placed on those linked to Putin and the bloody invasion of Ukraine, the long-term future of the club can only be secured under a new owner," Dorries said. "We are satisfied the proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or other sanctioned individuals."
Under the deal, £2.5 billion will be used to buy shares in Chelsea, with proceeds deposited into a frozen U.K. bank account. The money will be donated to charities, according to a statement on Chelsea's website published this month.
The remaining £1.75 billion will be used to invest in the club's assets, such as its Stamford Bridge stadium in west London and the club's charity, the Chelsea Foundation.
Approval for the sale is still needed from the Portuguese government because Abramovich holds a Portuguese passport. But the Premier League, which runs the top tier of English football, gave its approval to the deal on Tuesday.
"The board has applied the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test to all prospective directors and undertaken the necessary due diligence," the league said in a statement on its website.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was not available for further comment. Chelsea did not immediately respond to a request for comment and further information.
Jim Ratcliffe — chief executive of U.K. chemicals giant Ineos — had previously made a £4.25 billion bid for the club after it faced severe financial restrictions due to the sanctions, saying it was a "British bid, for a British club."
The U.K also hit a major Russian steel company with sanctions earlier this month as Abramovich is its largest private shareholder, saying its metals could be used in producing Russian army tanks.
Abramovich also suffered a major hit in April when a court in the crown dependency of Jersey froze more than $7 billion of assets suspected of being linked to him. Jersey police also executed search warrants at premises suspected of being linked to Abramovich the same day the asset freeze was announced.
Before Russian troops invaded Ukraine, in December, Abramovich settled a libel lawsuit against publisher HarperCollins and journalist Catherine Belton over claims made by the former Financial Times Moscow correspondent in her book, "Putin's People." The book claimed that Abramovich bought Chelsea FC in 2003 for £150 million ($188 million at today's rates) on Putin's orders.
Boehly is represented by Latham Watkins LLP. Clearlake Capital is counseled by Sidley Austin LLP and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP.
--Additional reporting by Benjamin Horney, Najiyya Budaly and Silvia Martelli. Editing by Ed Harris.
Update: This story has been updated with additional information about the buyers.
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