A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is closing in on a deal to acquire roughly a third of Liverpool, according to Sky News, with the club’s controlling shareholder Fenway Sports Group (FSG) preparing to make an announcement on the transaction as early as this week. If completed, the deal would value the club at around £4.4 billion (£$6bn), making it one of the largest investments in sports history.
Who’s Involved
The investor group is led by Amit Bhatia, a 46-year-old British-Indian entrepreneur with an investment banking background who runs the multi-asset firm AyBe Capital, spanning sectors including technology, media, property and healthcare. Bhatia is married to Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, daughter of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, and was until recently a shareholder in Championship club Queens Park Rangers.
Bezos would join the consortium alongside Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook who was previously part of an unsuccessful bidding group for Chelsea during the club’s 2022 ownership auction. Bezos’ fortune is estimated by Forbes at more than £207 billion, while Saverin’s wealth is put at around £23.7 billion meaning the deal would bring together some of the world’s richest individuals as co-owners of one of English football’s most successful clubs.
Deal Details Still Being Finalised
One source suggested an announcement could come within days, though cautioned it might slip into the following week. There are also indications the stake being discussed may end up slightly larger than first reported, potentially exceeding 30 per cent.
FSG confirmed last month that a consortium led by Bhatia had expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in the club, though both FSG and representatives for the Bhatia-led group have declined to comment further on timing. The last change of ownership stake at Liverpool came in 2023, when Dynasty Equity purchased a smaller interest that valued the club at more than £3.3 billion.
A Huge Return for FSG
Should the £4.4 billion valuation hold, it would represent an extraordinary return for FSG, who acquired Liverpool for just £300 million back in 2010 when the club was in financial difficulty. Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol described the growth in value as a stunning outcome for the Boston Red Sox owners, and noted the deal would comfortably surpass the £2.5 billion valuation placed on Chelsea during its last major ownership change.
Analysis: Why Some Caution Is Warranted
Solhekol acknowledged the potential significance of the move for Liverpool’s future, while urging some caution among supporters until more is known about the consortium’s underlying motivations. He noted that when investors with no prior connection to a club get involved, it’s fair to ask what they hope to gain pointing out that most wealthy individuals invest in football clubs both as a route to financial return and as a prestige asset in their own right.
While acknowledging some supporters may be uneasy at the prospect of part-ownership by one of the world’s richest men, Solhekol said he expects the deal to go through, and suggested it would leave an already financially powerful Liverpool in an even stronger position going forward, given the club’s substantial existing turnover.
Quick Facts: The Bezos-Liverpool Deal
- Stake size: ~33%, possibly exceeding 30%
- Club valuation: ~£4.4bn ($6bn)
- Consortium leader: Amit Bhatia
- Key investors: Jeff Bezos, Eduardo Saverin
- FSG’s original purchase price (2010): £300m
- Previous stake sale (2023, Dynasty Equity): Valued club at £3.3bn+
