Jeff Bezos has entered the world of sports investment with his involvement in a consortium that has bought a minority stake in Liverpool.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc., during the America Business Forum
Jeff Bezos has been approached to invest in Liverpool FC(Image: Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Liverpool has undergone significant change on and off the field over the summer so far, with the key switch in the boardroom coming in the form of new investment.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) announced that it had agreed to sell a significant minority stake in the Reds to a consortium of investors, led by British entrepreneur Amit Bhatia.
The initial agreement was believed to be worth roughly one-third of the entire club, but that has since changed to around 38 per cent of the stake owned by FSG, a significant and strategic investment from 1892 Holdings.
The investment is worth well over $2 billion, which values Liverpool overall at around $6 billion, with such money not just coming from Bhatia and the Mittal family that has backed him.
There is also some help from Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook, who has invested in the consortium. Then there's Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the fourth-richest man in the world.
It's a deal that came about quickly, with reports even suggesting that the investment group can buy out FSG's stakes in the next 12 months if it so wishes.
While Bhatia is no stranger to the world of soccer, having spent 18 years as co-owner of Queens Park Rangers, it is a new experience for Bezos.
The Amazon founder has been described by some as a "passive investor" at Liverpool, with the businessman not personally taking up a place on the board - though his company, K5 Sports, is represented in the boardroom - or featuring in FSG meetings up to this point.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.(Image: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Daily Mail described the investment as Bezos stepping into an "alien world", after he previously turned down opportunities to invest in sports, while finance expert Kieran Maguire told the outlet that Bezos is unlikely to be in it for the money.
He explained: "Bezos isn't in it for the money because even if he makes $500million out of this himself, it's not going to move the dial for him.
"It’s about the kudos, I think. It's about being able to own a room in a different way at a cocktail party. Everybody in that set has an apartment in Manhattan, a yacht; there are only 20 football clubs in the Premier League, and there's only one Liverpool.
"It could just be a hobby, a trophy asset."
Whether that proves to be a good thing or a bad thing for Liverpool moving forward remains to be seen, as the early days of the investment play out.
What is certain, however, is that more change is likely to come in the future in the boardroom, which is now bringing on new people.