Fenway Sports Group has confirmed a definitive agreement to sell a minority shareholding in Liverpool to 1892 Holdings, a consortium that includes Jeff Bezos.
The deal marks the club’s most significant ownership change since FSG took control in 2010.
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FSG president Mike Gordon said the club has “always been built by thinking beyond one season and making decisions with the club’s long-term interests in mind.”
Amit Bhatia, who leads the consortium, called it “a huge privilege” to be welcomed as a partner at Anfield.
The agreement values Liverpool at just over $7 billion. FSG will retain majority ownership and operational control for now, with the club’s day-to-day operations unaffected.
But the scale of the transaction is larger than first understood.
According to The Athletic, the stake purchased by 1892 Holdings is closer to 40 per cent, not the 30 per cent to one-third figure initially suggested by sources on both sides of the deal.
The article reads: “Fenway Sports Group (FSG) sold close to 40 per cent of Liverpool Football Club to the consortium including U.S. billionaire Jeff Bezos.
“Early suggestions on both sides of the transaction indicated the purchased stake was in the range of approximately 30 per cent to one-third, but The Athletic can reveal the figure is actually much closer to 40 per cent, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.
“1892 Holdings, a consortium headed up and led by Amit Bhatia, the former Queens Park Rangers co-owner who will take up the position of vice-chairman at Liverpool, has purchased around a 38 per cent shareholding in Liverpool.
“That is a much more significant share of the club, while there is also an option for the consortium to buy a controlling stake in the Premier League side, as per the terms of their agreement with FSG, in the next 12 months.”
1892 Holdings is led and managed by Bhatia, the former Queens Park Rangers co-owner, who will become Liverpool’s vice-chairman.
The consortium also includes the Mittal Family Trusts, K5 Sports, and EE Capital, the family office of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife Elaine.
Bezos is the lead investor in the K5 Sports fund. He is not expected to take a seat on Liverpool’s board, with his interests represented instead through K5 Global. Elaine Saverin and K5 Sports managing partner Bryan Baum will join the board.