Mark Walter and Todd Boehly have agreed to sell their stakes in Chelsea FC to Clearlake Capital in a deal that values the club at about £5bn including debt. The pair will receive £950mn in cash for their combined 25 per cent holding.

Clearlake, an existing investor, will acquire full control using its own capital and large direct investments from billionaire co-founders Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano. The deal is expected to complete by the end of this year and will lead to Boehly stepping down as chair.

The consortium acquired Chelsea in 2022 when Roman Abramovich was forced to sell after sanctions. Clearlake often clashed with Boehly and Walter on strategy, especially stadium expansion. Talks intensified as the pair sought to sell assets to support their sports and financial services empires.

Walter and Boehly, longtime colleagues at Guggenheim Partners, pioneered investing insurance premiums into riskier assets. US prosecutors have been probing Walter’s empire, and Boehly’s insurer Security Benefit faces pressure. Clearlake will not raise new debt for the purchase.