Soccer-Britain set to approve Abramovichs sale of Chelsea – source

LONDON Reuters – Britain is set to approve the sale of Premier League soccer Chelsea to a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers partowner Todd Boehly, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, after owner Roman Abramovich gave assurances over the deal.

Russian Abramovich put the club up for sale in early March following his countrys invasion of Ukraine.

The British government demanded assurances that Abramovich, who was sanctioned following the invasion – which Moscow calls a special operation – will not benefit from the sale.

The London club earlier this month announced the 4.25 billion pound 5.2 billion deal with Boehlys consortium, backed by Clearlake Capital, for the reigning European champions, subject to receiving the required approvals.

The UK governments approval of the sale was being finalised on Monday night, the source said, though the deal also faces the need for EU approval, as Abramovich holds a Portuguese passport.

The Financial Times and the BBC were the first to report the pending approval of the sale by the government.