Sidley, Latham, Macfarlanes score roles on £950m Chelsea deal

Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins and Macfarlanes have landed roles on Clearlake Capital’s buyout of Todd Boehly and Mark Walter’s stakes in Chelsea FC, in a deal valuing the Premier League club at around £5 billion including debt.

Boehly and Walter are selling their combined 25% holding to Clearlake, the US private equity group that has been Chelsea’s majority investor since the club changed hands in 2022. The pair are set to receive around £950 million in cash, the Financial Times reported.

The deal will give Clearlake full control of Chelsea, while Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss will remain an investor in the club.

Sidley is advising Clearlake and Chelsea, with the team led by M&A and private equity partners Mehdi Khodadad, Mark Castiglia and London-based Adam Runcorn.

Latham is acting for the sellers, led by London corporate partners Ed Barnett and Hector Sants. The wider team includes London finance partner Hayden Teo, funds partner Clare Scott and tax partners Helen Lethaby and Alan Kimball.

Winston Taylor is providing additional advice to Mark Walter.

Macfarlanes is advising Hansjörg Wyss, who is retaining his stake in the club, with the team led by corporate head Howard Corney.

Private equity's football play

The deal brings an end to the ownership arrangement put in place when Clearlake, Boehly, Walter and Wyss acquired Chelsea in 2022.

The consortium bought the club after Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was forced to sell following sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The £4.25 billion buyout saw firms including Paul Weiss, Latham and Sidley enlisted.

The deal helped set the tone for a wave of private capital investment into elite European football that has resulted in a string of mandates for City law firms.

A&O Shearman-advised Apollo acquired a stake in Atlético Madrid last year, while last month a consortium of investors acquired a minority stake in Liverpool FC in a deal that handed roles to firms including A&O Shearman, Latham, Clifford Chance, Orrick and Cleary.