Chelsea co-owner interested in assets of sanctioned Lukoil - WSJ

American billionaire Todd Boehly has formed a consortium with a group of UAE investors to compete for the foreign assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from consulting firm Xtellus Partners, which represents the bidders.

The consortium has applied for a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to negotiate and potentially close the deal, an Xtellus spokesman told the newspaper. So far, he said, the applicants have not received the license. The U.S. Treasury Department has set a December 13 deadline for negotiating the sale of the Russian company's assets.

Boehly was ranked 137th in the list of the richest Americans according to Forbes - the publication estimated his fortune at $9.3 billion. Investing in the oil business is unconventional for the businessman. His conglomerate Eldridge Industries is best known for assets in sports and entertainment and real estate investments. In 2022, Boely headed a consortium that bought the English soccer club Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

WSJ was unable to learn the names of the UAE investors.

The consortium headed by Boeli is likely to face competition from other bidders, says WSJ. According to the newspaper's interlocutors, Lukoil's assets may be sold in one package or in parts to different buyers. Reuters and Bloomberg, citing sources, earlier wrote that American oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron, investment fund Carlyle Group and the UAE-based energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) are among those interested in the assets.

"Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company, put its foreign assets up for sale in October after falling under U.S. sanctions. Initially, Swiss trader Gunvor was going to buy the assets, but the deal was blocked by the U.S. Finance Ministry.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor