Liverpool’s owners have agreed to sell a minority stake in the club to a consortium of investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
In a statement, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) confirmed it had entered into a “definitive agreement” for the sale of a “strategic minority investment” to 1892 Holdings.
The group is led by British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia and also includes billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Bhatia is now Liverpool’s vice-chairman and joined an expanded board. He has attended several of the club’s away fixtures this season.
The son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, he spent 18 years as a director and co-owner of Queens Park Rangers before relinquishing his stake in the club last month.
Bezos, the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, is the world’s fourth-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $256bn (£192bn). The investment marks his first foray into sports ownership, although he will not join Liverpool’s board.
However, Bryan Baum, founder of venture capital firm K5 Sports, through which Bezos is investing, will join the Anfield board alongside Saverin’s wife, Elaine. Bezos is K5 Sports’ biggest investor.
According to the Daily Mail, the deal remains on course to meet a deadline set by the new independent football regulator, despite concerns among supporters about the lack of updates. The process is taking time but that there have been no complications, with the agreement still expected to meet the deadline.
The date is understood to be in December, in line with the new regulator’s requirement to issue a final suitability determination on prospective new owners or senior executives within 90 days.
The consortium, operating through 1892 Holdings, reportedly has at least two options to increase its stake once its ownership has been approved by the Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
These could eventually see it increase its holding to around 69 per cent to gain control of Liverpool or pursue a complete 100 per cent takeover.
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