London: An industrial consortium has bought Chelsea, which has been put up for sale by Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich.
The English club will be owned by Todd Bolley, a well – known American sportsman, and another American businessman, Mark Walter, and a US company, Clearlake Capital, and a Swiss businessman, Hansiorg Vis. The transfer was worth $ 5.25 billion (Rs 40,000 crore). More than half of this amount will be transferred by the new owners as share value.
These will be kept in the club’s frozen bank account. The amount will then be spent on the charity item. The consortium will be led by Todd Boley, but Clear Lake Capital, headquartered in California, will have a larger stake. The transfer is under an agreement not to sell the club until 2032. Abramovich was forced to sell to Chelsea following sanctions imposed on leading Russian businessmen following the Ukraine invasion.
Abramovich had announced that the proceeds from the sale would be used for charity. The transfer must be completed by May 31. A team led by British businessman Sir Martin Brotten also tried to buy Chelsea.