Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter is selling his minority stake in Chelsea Football Club to Clearlake Capital, Chelsea said in a statement Wednesday night, completing a power shift at the storied Premier League club. Clearlake, which already held a 61.5 percent stake in Chelsea, is also acquiring the stake of club chairman Todd Boehly, giving the private equity firm full control. Boehly, a co-owner of the Dodgers, and Walter each held about 12.8 percent of the club. The Financial Times reported that the two men will receive a combined 950 million pounds, or 1.27 billion dollars, for their stakes in a deal that values Chelsea at 5 billion pounds. Boehly is departing as the club's chairman. The Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss "will remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group," the club's statement said. The valuation represents a premium over the 4.25 billion pound price the consortium paid for the club in 2022, and the divestment proceeds make the stakes sales among the largest minority buyouts recorded at an English football club. Neither Walter nor Boehly has commented on their reasons for selling, and no regulatory review of the transaction has been announced by the Premier League. ## A Sale Following the Lakers Deal The sale comes more than a month after the announcement that Walter had agreed to sell his controlling ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger. The Lakers deal focused renewed attention on dual federal criminal and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations into whether roughly 21 billion dollars in investments by two insurers controlled by Walter — Delaware Life Insurance and Clear Spring Life and Annuity — were properly disclosed as affiliated or related-party transactions. Walter's holding company, TWG Global, said in a statement on August 26: "Despite what has been reported, there has been no fraud" at that company and its subsidiaries. "TWG is committed to working with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve their inquiries," the company said. ## Eghbali and Feliciano Praise Boehly Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, co-founders of Clearlake Capital, singled out the departing chairman in a statement. "Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as Chairman," they said. "He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family." "Clearlake has served as Chelsea's majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the Club's infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the Club's supporters," the co-founders said. Chelsea said there will be no changes to the day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy at the club. ## Boehly's Farewell After Four Years Boehly, in a statement, said: "It has been an honour to serve as Chairman of Chelsea Football Club. I would like to thank the many who helped secure a bright future for the Club, including the English Premier League, the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans." "I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the Club," he said. Boehly and Clearlake led the 4.25 billion pound consortium purchase of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in 2022, a sale forced by UK government sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The club has since spent heavily on transfers under the ownership, and the Premier League's clubs collectively smashed their summer spending record again this year with a 3.46 billion pound outlay, underlining the financial environment into which Clearlake now assumes sole control. For Chelsea supporters, the immediate practical effect is administrative continuity — the club emphasised no change in strategy — while the governance shift concentrates decision-making in the hands of a firm that has been the dominant shareholder since 2022. For Walter, the divestment trims a cross-portfolio that recently spanned baseball's Dodgers, basketball's Lakers and a Premier League giant, as federal investigators continue to examine transactions at two insurers connected to his holding company. Both the DOJ and SEC inquiries remain open, and the final shape of Walter's sports empire — and the regulatory scrutiny attached to it — will now be settled far from Stamford Bridge. The transaction also resolves a four-year experiment in shared control between two strong-willed ownership factions. Clearlake's 61.5 percent position had made it the club's dominant shareholder since 2022, but the presence of Boehly as chairman and Walter as a 12.8 percent partner meant major decisions ran through a coalition — one that now gives way to a single controlling voice. Wyss's continued presence keeps a minority partner in the tent, but the governance message from the club's own statement is unambiguous: full control rests with Eghbali and Feliciano's firm, and Chelsea's next chapter will be written entirely in Clearlake's voice.