Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have confirmed the sale of a significant minority stake, with 30 per cent of the club being sold off to a group of investors led by Amit Bhatia.
Amit Bhatia could soon have a stake in Liverpool
Amit Bhatia could soon have a stake in Liverpool(Image: Andrew Fosker/REX/Shutterstock)
New Liverpool vice-chairman Amit Bhatia has detailed his pride in leading the consortium that has now bought a significant minority stake in the Merseyside club.
The British entrepreneur has moved quickly to seal a deal with Fenway Sports Group, just weeks after he left Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers as a key board member.
Bhatia had spent 18 years with the Rs, taking up roles as a co-owner and director, but that was all given up for the chance to do the same at Liverpool. The 46-year-old assembled a consortium, which includes his father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal - the Indian Steel Magnate - as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
FSG has since confirmed the move, which is believed to be worth 30 percent of the overall stake, as part of a deal that values the entire club at $6 billion.
Bhatia will now take up a role as vice-chairman on the Liverpool board and detailed his pride at getting a move done in partnership with the current owners.
In a club statement, the new investor said: "We are incredibly proud to be investing in Liverpool Football Club and to be doing so alongside FSG.
"We have the utmost respect and admiration for FSG as owners and for everything they have achieved at Anfield. To be welcomed as a partner in a club of this stature is a huge privilege.
"We are making this investment because we believe deeply in Liverpool and its leadership, and we look forward to supporting the club’s continued success for years to come."
Amit Bhatia
Amit Bhatia(Image: Shutterstock)
Bhatia brings with him a wealth of soccer experience from his time at QPR, where the club eventually ended up naming a stand after him.
That will see him lead operations on behalf of the consortium, which is named 1892 holdings after the date Liverpool was founded, June 3, 1892.
Bhatia's role is set to be more hands-on than that of Bezos and Saverin, who are involved in the deal but look set to be observers of the investment rather than active participants in the day-to-day running of the club.
It remains to be seen whether that will change any direction for Liverpool in the long-term, with the team continuing in a steady trajectory under FSG since its takeover back in October 2010.
For now, though, the American investors will continue to have full control of the club and its direction, though with the possibility of an eventual full sale in the future.