Todd Boehly gets £845m boost from the US as Chelsea takeover battle continues

Since the bombshell news that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were looking to buy each other out, there have been very clues about what might happen next at Chelsea.

On the one hand, that may simply be because, whatever the co-investors differences, they do not want to cause unnecessary turbulence at a time when results are steady under Enzo Maresca.

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But with budgets to plan and potentially a new Chelsea stadium to build, the impasse between Boehly and Eghbali cannot hold forever – or can it?

There is no doubt who holds the high card in the Stamford Bridge boardroom. Eghbali’s Clearlake Capital own more than 60 per cent of the club. Boehly? A mere 13 per cent.

Granted, Boehly might have the support of some of his co-investors, but there has been no smoke signals in the press to suggest that is the case.

If Boehly was to buy Clearlake out, it would likely cost him £2bn or more given that Clearlake’s limited partners – investors in the private equity firm – would expect a return on their initial investment.

If Clearlake and Eghbali wanted to buy Boehly and Boehly only out, it would cost them far, far less.

And in any case, the fact that Clearlake are the ones in operational control means that they may not feel there is any need to spend hundreds of millions to increase their stake.

One thing is for sure, however, if Boehly is forced out, he will be far from in the gutter.

His personal fortunes is around £6.5bn, while the 51-year-old’s Eldridge Industries has over £150bn worth of assets under management.

He has enjoyed major success in the world of sports business recently too, with Boehly-owned LA Dodgers winning baseball’s World Series earlier this month.

Elsewhere in his empire, the American businessman has just scored another triumph.

• READ MORE: Enzo Maresca is encouraged by the progress of ‘frustrating’ Chelsea player this season, his attitude is immense

Todd Boehly’s LA Lakers get £845m finance boost

Three years ago, Boehly bought a 27 per cent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Chelsea business partner Mark Walter.

The part-takeover was worth £1.25bn and saw the duo get a foothold in one of the biggest sporting brands of all time.

The Lakers and Dodgers have always been closely connected as the two most popular sports teams in Los Angeles. Three years ago, Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly bought 27% of the Lakers. Walter, Boehly and many Dodgers players will be at tonight's Lakers-76ers game. pic.twitter.com/MzS8NwKClq

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2024

Despite having not won the Championship four four years, the Lakers’ brand has gone from strength to strength under Boehly and Walter’s stewardship.

A new report from industry experts Brand Finance has found that the value of the Lakers’ brand has increased £71m in the last year alone, taking it to £845m.

New Brand Finance data reveals that the @NBA remains the most-watched sports league in the U.S., with 61% of US-based sports fans tuning in. Its simplicity and accessibility continue to drive basketball’s growing global influence, setting it apart from other major leagues like… pic.twitter.com/2nMWG9KlnE

— Brand Finance (@BrandFinance) November 19, 2024

Their brand is essentially the value of their licensing, sponsorship and so on.

The Lakers’ enterprise value – AKA their value as a business – is worth £5.6bn.

That is more than double what Boehly’s consortium paid to acquired Chelsea in May 2022, illustrating the commercial gap between football and closed-shop US franchise sport.

• READ MORE: Shaka Hislop names ‘powerful’ Chelsea player as the best Premier League signing of the season

Boehly’s Chelsea masterplan: A new stadium and supersized commercial income

One of the key differences in Boehly and Eghbali’s respective visions for Chelsea are their plans for Stamford Bridge.

Eghbali wants to stay at SW6 and rebuild on the same site, using the land they have acquired from Stoll to expand their footprint.

Boehly’s plan is to move Chelsea to Earl’s Court, where they would spend billions on a new, Tottenham-style stadium.

Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Key to that vision is the stadium’s commercial value.

Spurs commercial and matchday income have trebled since they moved into their new stadium in 2019, with the project purpose-built to raise sponsorship, events and catering revenue.

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