Liverpool FC announced on Friday evening that a minority stake in the club had been sold by Fenway Sports Group to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also one of the investors.
As early as late July, it had been leaked that the investor consortium 1892 Holdings was seeking to acquire shares in Liverpool FC; the majority stake has been held by the U.S.-based Fenway Sports Group (FSG) since 2010. The deal is now complete, pending only regulatory approvals and the usual closing conditions. LFC announced this on its website on Friday evening. The report does not specify what percentage of the shares the consortium has acquired or the price paid. In July, The Guardian reported on an offer of approximately 1.58 billion euros for 30 percent of the club’s shares.
In addition to Bezos, Facebook co-founder Saverin is also involved
The consortium led by Amit Bhatia, former co-owner of Queens Park Rangers, is receiving financial support from, among others, K5 Sports, a fund whose main investor is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In addition, the Indian billionaire Mittal family is investing; its head, Lakshmi Mittal, is Bhatia’s father-in-law. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has also joined the investment through his holding company, EE Capital.
The fresh capital is intended to support Liverpool FC in its long-term development. There is talk of opportunities both on and off the field. However, the club has not specified any concrete projects. Even after the sale of the stake, FSG remains the majority owner of Liverpool FC and thus retains operational control—so this does not constitute a change in ownership.