Chelsea have announced that an agreement has been reached for a consortium spearheaded by Todd Boehly to take control of the club from Roman Abramovich.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Abramovich was placed under sanctions by the UK Government on March 10 and his assets frozen after established links to Vladimir Putin were proven.
Since then, Chelsea have been operating under the terms of a special Government licence, which has allowed them to continue their footballing activities while heavily restricting their activity off it.
The European champions had until May 31 to change hands before the terms of their Government licence ran out, threatening the future of the club in the Premier League.
However, the club confirmed that LA Dodgers part owner Boehly - who reportedly saw a bid to take over in 2019 rejected by Abramovich - has fended off competition from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir Martin Broughton and Stephen Pagliuca to replace Abramovich.
"Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club," a statement read.
"Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100% to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.
"In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women's Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.
"The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time."
Boehly is understood to have been selected as Raine Group's preferred bidder at the end of April, in spite of Ratcliffe tabling a late £4.25bn offer as Abramovich's 19-year tenure at Chelsea comes to an end.
The Russian oligarch announced that he would be writing off a £1.6n loan in order to oversee a smooth sale of the club, but reports emerged last week of Abramovich changing his stance.
Such a move would have threatened the takeover, with the Government seeking to ensure that no proceeds went directly into Abramovich's pocket, but those rumours were denied by Chelsea earlier this week.
The Ricketts Family - who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team - withdrew their offer to take over Chelsea back in March, while Broughton's consortium lost out despite the backing of Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams.
Manager Thomas Tuchel affirmed earlier this week that he was "confident" about the takeover process as the Blues seek to remain focused on Sunday's upcoming Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the club third in the table and three points clear of Arsenal.
Abramovich's 19 trophy-laden years at Chelsea have seen the club win two Champions League titles - becoming the first side from the English capital to be crowned European champions - as well as five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three EFL Cups and two Europa League crowns.
Should the takeover of the club go through as planned, Chelsea will be able to buy, sell and negotiate new contracts with players, but Antonio Rudiger is already confirmed to be leaving and Andreas Christensen is understood to be on the verge of a move to Barcelona ahead of his deal expiring. body check tags ::
