Fenway Sports Group (FSG) remains in negotiations with a consortium that includes Amazon owner Jeff Bezos to acquire a stake of around 30% in Liverpool FC. The potential deal could be worth up to £1.4 billion.
Consortium led by Amit Bhatia
The group is led by Amit Bhatia, who stepped down as a director of Queens Park Rangers last month after 19 years. Bhatia is the son-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, executive of ArcelorMittal. FSG sources confirmed to the ECHO last month that talks were active over a "significant minority stake."
Sky News reported on Monday that the consortium seeks about a third of Liverpool's shares, with Bezos participating as an investor alongside Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook. Bezos is listed by Forbes as the third richest man in the world, with an estimated worth of £207bn, but has no prior experience in running a football club.
FSG's stance and potential exit strategy
FSG sources have declined to comment on claims that an announcement is imminent. Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan told The Athletic: "John Henry has been very up front about the fact that if there ever was an opportunity for investment that would help the club, then they would seriously consider it. In this case, and what was communicated last week, a consortium led, managed and represented by Amit Bhatia has come forward to make a minority investment in the club. That's kind of it. There's not much else to say about it at this point."
Former CEO Peter Moore, speaking to the ECHO in a Blood Red podcast special, suggested the deal could signal FSG's exit strategy. Moore noted that John Henry and Tom Werner are both 76, and said: "It may well be that you have a club now that is, based on that 30% investment, is worth £4.5billion. It's about $6bn." He added that the investment shows "some long-term thinking" and that FSG "clearly spent a long time with this guy (Bhatia)."
