Fenway Sports Group’s sale of a stake in Liverpool to a Jeff Bezos-backed consortium has been one of the biggest ownership stories in English football this month.
The deal, confirmed on Friday, saw FSG agree to sell part of the club to 1892 Holdings, a group led by British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia.
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Confusion followed within days after the size of the stake was reported differently in the space of a week.
What was first described as roughly a third of the club was later confirmed to be closer to 38%, prompting some at Liverpool to privately question why FSG had not been more transparent from the outset.
That confusion has since given way to a bigger question: why did FSG do this deal at all, and what does it mean for the club’s future.
According to BBC Sport, the motivation behind the sale was not primarily financial.
“The motivation behind the deal was to help Liverpool’s reach across global business, technology and investment, including in India and across Asia – rather than just for pure investment.”
The 1892 Holdings consortium includes Bezos, investing through the K5 Sports fund, and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, whose family office EE Capital is also part of the group.
Bryan Baum, Bezos’ business partner at K5 Sports, and Saverin’s wife, Elaine, will both join Liverpool’s board. Bhatia will sit on the board too, as the club’s vice-chairman.
Bezos himself will not take a board seat.
The investment marks his first move into sports ownership, and he is the world’s fourth-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $256bn (£192bn).
FSG will keep majority ownership and operational control of Liverpool following the sale. But the agreement also includes an option allowing 1892 Holdings to buy a controlling stake within the next 12 months.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport that FSG had struck a favourable deal, generating more than £1bn while retaining control of the club.
The transaction values Liverpool between £5bn and £6bn, more than 15 times the £300m FSG paid to buy the club in 2010, when it was, according to chief executive Billy Hogan, close to bankruptcy.
FSG expects the impact of the partnership to become visible over the coming months.