(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Bloomberg
Chelsea Football Club's sale to a group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital is expected to be completed on Monday.
The London club said in a statement that a final and definitive agreement was entered into and that it will update further upon completion of the deal.
The UK government earlier approved the £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion) sale, bringing a close to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's near 20-year ownership of the football club. Abramovich was forced to put the team up for sale shortly before being sanctioned as part of the UK's response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Under Abramovich, the team won England's Premier League title five times, Europe's Champions League competition twice and gained a total of 21 trophies in 19 years.
As part of the deal, the Boehly group agreed to invest £1.75 billion in the club's Stamford Bridge and Kingsmeadow stadiums, as well as in its women's team, youth player development academy and the Chelsea Foundation. Boehly's winning bid is backed by California-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital.
In a separate statement, Abramovich said the ownership of Chelsea 'comes with great responsibility” and his goal is to ensure that the next owner can achieve success for both the men's and women's teams.
'As I hand over Chelsea to its new custodians, I would like to wish them the best of success, both on and off the pitch,” Abramovich said in the statement, adding that 'millions of people will now benefit from the new charitable foundation which is being established.”
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