Chelsea chairman and co-owner Todd Boehly has joined forces with Mark Walter, his fellow shareholder at Stamford Bridge, for a sports takeover deal that obliterates the previous record.

Boehly is the founder of private equity house Eldridge Industries, a diversified fund with stakes in business ranging from the production company A24 and American pizza restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese to Security Benefit Life Insurance and real estate firm Cain International.

It is in sports, however, where the Virginia-born billionaire has become, if not a household name like Roman Abramovich, then at least one with a huge cachet in the Premier League and beyond.

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Boehly owns around 13 per cent of Chelsea and sister club Strasbourg. In the summer of 2024, he was the public face of the BlueCo consortium of dozens of investors which paid a record £2.5bn to buy the West London club, with another £1.75bn pledged for future projects.

Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images

Since the takeover, he and his deal partners Clearlake Capital have adopted a ‘move fast and break things’ management style.

Billions have been blasted on transfers and even more committed in player wages. The jury is still out...