Liverpool's majority owners Fenway Sports Group have sold a 30 per cent stake in the club
Football fans gave their verdict on Liverpool FC's new investment
Football fans gave their verdict on Liverpool FC's new investment(Image: Liverpool Echo)
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People in Liverpool city centre have given their thoughts on what Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' investment could mean for the club. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has officially completed the sale of a 30% minority stake in Liverpool FC to an investment consortium for approximately £1.4 billion. This transaction values the football club as a whole at around £4.57 billion.
While Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the primary investor in the consortium through the K5 Sports fund, he will not personally serve on the Liverpool board. Instead, Bezos, who is estimated to be the third richest man in the world, with a personal fortune of around £204billion, will be represented on the reconfigured board by Bryan Baum, the managing partner of K5 Global.
FSG originally acquired Liverpool for £300 million in October 2010 to save the club from potential bankruptcy under previous ownership. Nearly 16 years later, the club recently recorded record revenues surpassing £700 million.
This partnership comes shortly after FSG shelved plans to establish a multi-club ownership model, which led to the departure of former CEO of football Michael Edwards. The fresh investment is intended to bolster Liverpool’s global status and fund future growth opportunities on and off the pitch.
The ECHO asked people in the city today about what they thought of the new investment, and there were some mixed reviews.
One young Liverpool FC fan visiting from Cork with his mum, believes it's a great thing for his club. He said: "I feel like we have enough money to get Bradley Barcola now. We'll have a new, exciting winger coming into our club and hopefully he stays there for many years."
And Aussie fan Angela agreed, adding: "I think it can only be a good thing if it's managed properly. The investment, the new blood, the new money into the club. I think it's going to be a good thing."
However, the blue football fans in the city, had quite the opposite opinion. Dave was on his way to watch Everton play today with his friends. He jokingly said: "I hate Amazon now. I'm a big customer of Amazon but now I would never buy another thing off them, you know the reason why? I f****** hate Liverpool. I hate Amazon now."
And Stan wanted to focus on his own club, adding: "Everton have got enough of their own worries with their own club so it's irrelevant what they do over there. Good luck if it's the right thing for them. But, for us, we're not really bothered. We just want to get on with our own problems."
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