Mark Walter explores selling stake in Chelsea
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Chelsea is valued at US$4 billion by Sportico. Clearlake owns about 61.5 per cent.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mark Walter has explored selling his stake in English Premier League club Chelsea to Clearlake Capital, the majority owner of the London-based football club, according to people familiar with the matter.
Walter’s family office recently reached out to the private equity firm about the potential sale, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
They added that no decisions have been made on a potential sale.
TWG Global, Walter’s holding company, has been looking to pull off a range of deals in a bid to clean up loans on his insurers’ balance sheet that have drawn scrutiny from federal prosecutors. Last week, he agreed to sell the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking US$12.5 billion (S$16 billion).
On-and-off discussions between the various owners of Chelsea have been held over the past two years, but have consistently broken down over price.
Chelsea is valued at US$4 billion by Sportico. Clearlake owns about 61.5 per cent.
Walter, former Guggenheim executive Todd Boehly and Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss own the remainder directly or via linked investment vehicles.
Walter’s stake was 16 per cent in 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Clearlake and Boehly led a consortium that bought Chelsea from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022 for about £2.5 billion (S$4.3 billion).
In September 2024, Clearlake and Boehly began assessing whether they could potentially buy each other out, after falling out over the direction of the club after a period heavy spending led by Boehly.
In recent seasons, Clearlake has become increasingly involved in running the club, which won the lucrative new version of the Club World Cup in 2025, but has struggled in the Premier League.
Despite being consistently loss-making, Premier League clubs have become increasingly valuable assets, along with sports teams from the National Football League to Indian cricket teams.
Last week, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos became a shareholder in Liverpool in a deal that valued the club at around US$6 billion.
Real Madrid, the biggest football club in the world, is valued around US$7.7 billion, with Barcelona and Manchester United at about US$6.5 billion, according to data from Sportico.
Representatives for TWG and Clearlake declined to comment.
The Financial Times earlier reported there are active discussions about the sale. BLOOMBERG
