Abramovich and ministers agree £4.25bn Chelsea deal

The £4.25bn sale of Chelsea FC is set for approval after Roman Abramovich met all of the government’s ‘red lines’. A consortium spearheaded by US financier Todd Boehly will take control of the club after ministers agreed to signoff on the deal last night. The main issue in London was the insistence by UK ministers that neither Abramovich, a sanctioned Russian oligarch, nor people connected to him would benefit from proceeds of the sale. Abramovich’s advisers and the government have been locked in talks for weeks over how to handle the proceeds and the £1.5bn debt owed by Chelsea to an offshore vehicle connected to the oligarch. However the European Commission and Portugal still have to approve the deal, as Abramovich is technically an EU citizen via his Portuguese passport. Boehly, who owns stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and LA Dodgers baseball side, is leading a takeover backed by California-based investment firm Clearlake Capital, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and Guggenheim Partners chief executive Mark Walter. The group still requires final approval from the Premier League. If the sale goes ahead the consortium has pledged to invest more than £1bn to redevelop Chelsea stadium. The FT (£)