Billionaire winery owner part of successful Chelsea bid

Hansjörg Wyss, owner of Halter Ranch winery in California, has been named as part of the consortium which acquired Chelsea Football Club.

Though Wyss’ involvement in a takeover bid for the Premier League giants was announced back in March, the sanctions on former owner Roman Abramovich, in relation to his closeness to Vladimir Putin, threatened the plans.

However, the club released a statement on 30 May declaring that a consortium led by Eldridge CEO Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital Group L.P. had completed the transfer of ownership. Boehly co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks along with Mark Walter, the Guggenheim Capital CEO who was also part of the winning bid.

Wyss made his billions in the industry of manufacturing medical devices at Synthes Holding AG. He is also the founder of the nonprofit Wyss Foundation, which raises money for conservation projects.

His Halter Ranch winery is situated in Paso Robles. Wyss purchased the 19th century property in 2000, renovating it and enlarging the size of the vineyard to some 200 acres. Twenty different grape varieties are cultivated there, from Petit Verdot to Viognier and Vermentino.

The statement relating to the successful bid concluded with Clearlake co-founders Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano saying: “we will expand the Club’s investment across infrastructure, technology, and sports science to support the incredible Chelsea football and commercial teams”.

Next season’s Arsenal v Chelsea games could be interesting, given that the former’s owner, Stan Kroenke, also owns a rival California winery: Screaming Eagle in Napa.

Wyss was not the only individual involved in the drinks industry to have an interest in Chelsea: Cobra Beer founder Karan Bilimoria was part of an unsuccessful bid this April.