Chelsea Co-Owner Considering Sale of Stake Just 10 Days Before Premier League Kickoff Against Fulham

CHELSEA co-owner Mark Walter is said to be open to selling his stake in the club.

Reports claim , who holds 12.8 per cent of shares in the Blues’ parent company, is under pressure because of an investigation into his financial affairs.

The billionaire businessman, 66, is already in the process of selling his stake in basketball team the LA Lakers less than a year after buying control of the blue-chip sporting franchise.

And sources claim Walter would entertain bids for his stake in Chelsea which he has held since the 2022 takeover of the Premier League club.

Any sale would mean a shake-up in the Blues boardroom.

And it could revive the rivalry between Stamford Bridge supremo Behdad Eghbali and chairman , who is Walter’s partner in one of the companies that controls the club and in other sporting investments.

The Wall Street Journal says the US Attorney General has launched a probe into Walter’s affairs.

It is believed to be focused on loans taken out by companies linked to him or to his conglomerate TWG Global and how they have ended up on the books of insurance companies also controlled by him.

The investigation has echoes of the problems which hit 777 Partners, the investment firm which to its portfolio of football clubs before suffering a financial meltdown linked to its debts and the insurance industry.

Walter is one of four investors in Blueco22 Holdings, which effectively owns just over 38 per cent of Chelsea through a network of holding companies.

The rest is controlled by Clearlake Capital, the investment firm co-founded by Eghbali.

Walter and each hold one third of the Blueco22 Holdings shares, with the remainder split between Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and Greenelite CFC, whose ultimate owner is unknown.

Walter and Boehly are also co-investors in baseball team the LA Dodgers and the Los Angeles Sparks women’s basketball team.

In addition, Walter owns North America’s top-level professional women’s ice hockey league.

The proposed sale of his 85 per cent stake in the Lakers was a key sign all was not well, even though the £9billion deal is a world record for a sports team.

The purchasers are former Disney boss Bob Iger and Joel Kushner, brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared and the same man who was in line to buy into the World Cup as part of Fifa’s aborted in its competitions.

Walter increased his stake in the Lakers only last October. Although he has made a healthy profit, he is facing intense scrutiny on his business empire.

have been approached for comment.