LA Dodgers minority owner ‘considering’ Chelsea or Tottenham bid — report

According to an Evening Standard exclusive, 46-year-old businessman Todd Boehly is considering options to invest in a Premier League club, with Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur at the top of his list, though it’s not clear if he’s looking for an actual takeover or just a minority stake as an investment vehicle. Both teams valued around £2.4-2.5b, with Spurs possibly a bit higher due to their new stadium.

Boehly currently holds a 20 per cent stake in Major League Baseball’s LA Dodgers, who are valued at $3.3b by Forbes. While the Dodgers have been a model organization in recent years in terms of investment and success on the field, the majority owners of the Los Angeles-based franchise, Guggenheim Partners, have no apparent ties to this potential new enterprise — either through Boehly himself, who is their former president, or through his current investment company, Eldridge Industries.

What is known is that Boehly’s investment firm is valued at only $6b, according to Barron’s, and that while he is the controlling investor, it is unclear how much of those assets are truly his to leverage since “90% of Eldridge is owned substantially by a partnership between Boehly and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss”.

Above all that, it’s a bit of a stretch to assume that either Tottenham majority owners ENIC Group (formed by their chairman Daniel Levy and businessman Joe Lewis) or Chelsea chairman and proprietor Roman Abramovich would even be open to any bids. Judging by the entire Jim Ratcliffe rumor cycle, probably not — even if Abramovich continues to be unable to work in the UK due to his visa issues.

Then again, if Boehly wants to buy a minority stake and held fund a stadium, a la Manchester City selling a 13 per cent stake to Chinese investors in 2015, then by all means...