Todd Boehly, the former co-owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, is joining the race for the international assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil — a deal worth around $20 billion. The American already has the backing of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and he is also being supported by influential investors from the Persian Gulf, the Financial Times reports.
According to the newspaper, Boehly has been preparing his bid for months and is trying to outmaneuver Carlyle, which signed a preliminary agreement for the same business — Lukoil's assets outside Russia — back in January. No final deal has yet been reached with Boehly's consortium, but sources told the Financial Times that talks are already at an advanced stage.
The American's name drew attention shortly after he left Chelsea. On September 17, the club confirmed that Clearlake Capital would acquire the minority stakes held by Boehly and his co-owner Mark Walter and take full control of the Blues — a deal valued by foreign media at around £950 million. Boehly entered the football business in 2022, when Roman Abramovich sold the club. Just days after parting ways with Chelsea, his name is already being linked to a far bigger project — oil fields, refineries and thousands of gas stations around the world.
Behind his consortium stand serious partners. The Financial Times writes that the DFC is expected to acquire around 15% of the future company. Other investors include Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — brother of the president of the United Arab Emirates — as well as Qatar's Al Hayat family. International Holding Company and Allied Investment Partners of the UAE are also set to play leading roles in the deal. People familiar with the bid say Boehly, together with the DFC, would hold a majority on the board of the new entity.
For Bulgaria, the story hits close to home, since Lukoil International's assets include Lukoil Neftochim Burgas. The U.S. agency OFAC has authorized negotiations, due diligence and the signing of conditional agreements to continue until October 22, 2026. That, however, does not mean the final sale is automatically approved — a separate license from Washington is required for that. The condition set by U.S. authorities is unequivocal: the new owner must completely sever ties with the Russian company, and payments to the sanctioned current owner remain blocked.
Meanwhile, the preliminary deal with Carlyle has made no progress despite January's agreement. The Financial Times estimates that Lukoil's international business is worth around $20 billion and includes more than 3 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves, several major refineries and a network of nearly 2,500 gas stations. It is precisely the delay in approval from the U.S. administration that has opened the door for Boehly's rival bid. The newspaper notes, however, that it has not yet independently confirmed the reports of U.S. backing for his consortium.
In Bulgaria, the Burgas refinery remains the property of Lukoil, but operational control of the main Bulgarian companies is held by special commercial trustee Evgeni Simeonov, appointed by the state. The Council of Ministers put him in charge in June, replacing Rumen Spetsov, with his main task being to keep the plants running normally and ensure the market remains supplied. The UK, meanwhile, has extended its own license permitting operations with Lukoil's Bulgarian companies until October 29, 2026.
Who will ultimately end up owning Lukoil's international business remains unclear. With Boehly now in the running, the bidding has effectively turned into a head-to-head clash between two of the most influential financial powerhouses in the United States.