A consortium in advanced talks to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Liverpool includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
The proposed transaction would value Liverpool at £4.5bn, meaning Fenway Sports Group would receive £1.35bn for their share. FSG paid £300m for the club in 2010 and has since provided intra-group loans of around £218m, a total outlay of approximately £518m.
Bezos, whose personal fortune Forbes places at around $257bn (£190bn), stepped down as chief executive of Amazon five years ago but remains one of its largest shareholders. He owns aerospace company Blue Origin, venture capital firm Nash Holdings, the Washington Post and artificial intelligence company Prometheus, which last month put £330m into a British AI start-up. Only last week he filed to sell 15 million of his remaining Amazon shares, carrying a market value of roughly £3.1bn — approximately double the value of the stake the consortium is seeking.
Despite the scale of his wealth, Bezos has no prior experience of investing in a sports franchise. He had previously been linked with NFL sides the Seattle Seahawks, who sold for £7.3bn, and the Washington Commanders, which changed hands for £4.6bn in 2023.
Saverin, reported to be worth $32bn (£23.7bn), is the other major financial figure in the group. Bhatia is the only member with a hands-on sporting background, having served as co-owner and director of Queens Park Rangers for 18 years before relinquishing that role on 21 July.
FSG has long signalled an openness to outside capital. Dynasty Equity purchased around 3 per cent of the club for approximately £120m in 2023. Speaking to The Athletic last month, Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan said: "John Henry (FSG principal owner) 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 a consortium led, managed and represented by Amit Bhatia has come forward to make a minority investment in the club."
FSG's only public comment on the matter remains a statement issued last month confirming that Bhatia's group had expressed interest in a strategic minority investment. A spokesman for the consortium also declined to add anything further.
Supporters' group Spirit of Shankly has responded by writing to the club requesting greater clarity and a meeting to discuss what the changes might mean. SoS asked specifically about board representation and the degree of influence the incoming investors would hold over football and non-football decisions. The group's statement said members had reiterated that who owns the club and how it is controlled — with the interests of Liverpool and its supporters placed first — is fundamental, adding that the latest report of a 30 per cent sale and the consortium assembled to carry it out was significant, and warning that similar transactions at other clubs had led to changes in running and football operations that many supporters would not wish to see replicated at Liverpool.
The deal would extend a broader pattern of American capital flowing into the Premier League. Eleven of the 20 top-flight clubs this season are under majority US control, Liverpool among them. Research firm GWI has reported that Liverpool count 26 million supporters in the United States, the fastest-growing fan base in that market.
Reporting: The Guardian, BBC Sport, The Independent, ESPN.