Chelsea part-owner Todd Boehly seeks to buy out Clearlake Capital, but faces resistance

However, Clearlake Capital is not interested in selling and is prepared to block any external attempts by Boehly to offload his shares.

Following their 2022 acquisition of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for 4.25 billion pounds, Boehly and Clearlake Capital each hold significant stakes, with Clearlake owning 61.5 percent and Boehly holding less than 13 percent.

Recent developments suggest that the co-owners were exploring the possibility of buying each other out, but Clearlake has expressed a preference to increase their share rather than sell. Both parties are understood to have rights to block third-party investors, which would enable them to prevent any external transactions.

According to a report by The Sun, Boehly is reportedly confident that he can raise the 2.5 billion pounds needed to buy out Clearlake and Behdad Eghbali. However, Clearlake believes Boehly might be maneuvering for an exit and intends to veto any attempt he makes to sell his shares to outside investors.

The report also suggests that Clearlake, co-owned by Eghbali, is now contemplating making an offer to acquire full control of Chelsea to resolve the boardroom discord.

Since the acquisition, Chelsea has invested over 1 billion pounds in player transfers, but this financial outlay has yet to result in success on the pitch. The club has faced criticism from fans and analysts regarding its recruitment strategy and has seen three different managers - Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Mauricio Pochettino - come and go.

In April, Boehly encouraged fans to support the ownership group and their strategy despite growing criticism.

He told Forbes: "We just need to let the process develop and give them the time to go from being unbelievable individual players with great skills to fold into a team. The good news is people care so much. And the bad news is people care so much. That leads to times when they're frustrated with the team and the owners. I get that, but we just have to continue to stay the course."

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