Could the Fenway Group Sell Liverpool? Consortium Backed by Jeff Bezos are Circling

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It’s official: Liverpool FC is up for sale.

Well, a part of it is, anyway. Fenway Sports CEO Billy Hogan has confirmed that the club is currently in discussions with a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, a millionaire businessman most recently involved as an owner at QPR.

Bhatia’s trump card is that he’s backed by one of the richest families in the world: the Mittals, who have made billions in the steel and mining industry – Bhatia is the son-in-law of ArcelorMittal founder Lakshmi Mittal.

And when you potentially throw in the financial might of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, this is a consortium that clearly needs to be taken seriously.

Hogan has reiterated that the investment group will only be taking a minority share in Liverpool, however reports suggest that Bhatia is keen to ultimately gain the majority shareholding in the club.

So could the Reds be about to be acquired by a new owner with links to one of the richest families on the planet?

Expression of Interest

The Fenway Sports Group has confirmed that talks with the consortium headed by Bhatia have now begun.

“Look, John Henry (the principal owner) and FSG have always said that if there was an interest in an investment that would help the football club, then they would consider it. That was said many years ago and that remains the case here,” Hogan commented.

Although its early days, media outlets like the Liverpool Echo have reported that insiders have a ‘growing belief’ that a deal will be agreed.

The offer is thought to stand at around £1.35 billion, with the consortium hoping to pick up a share of approximately 30% in the club. At those figures, Liverpool FC has a valuation of around £4.5 billion, making it the fourth most valuable in world football behind Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Fenway have been amenable to minority sales in the past, having offloaded 3% of the shareholding to the Dynasty Equity Group in 2023.

However, a 30% stake would be a considerable uplift – although Hogan claims that FSG are not looking to exit Anfield.

“There’s a huge opportunity still. We’ve definitely not peaked,” he said.

“We’re in a good place to continue to grow and that’s why everyone across both sides of the club, football and business and whether they kick a ball or not, is focused on driving the club forward and winning trophies.”

Who Is Amit Bhatia?

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Bhatia, who has made his millions from capital investing and private equity, is also the chairman of construction supplies firm Breedon Group. He has been a director and co-owner of Championship side QPR since 2007.

The 46-year-old has transferred his ownership stake in the Hoops to fully commit to the Liverpool offer, with reports suggesting that he one day wants to own the majority share in the Reds.

Bhatia will certainly have plenty of big money benefactors. The Mittal family has a net worth of £26 billion as per Forbes, and have shown an interest in sports investing – Aditya, the son of patriarch Lakshmi, is now the co-owner of the NBA franchise Boston Celtics, while the Mittals also have a controlling interest in IPL team Rajasthan Royals.

Reports also link Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin to the bid. He was part of a consortium that tried to buy Chelsea back in 2022, with a net worth of £24.3 billion to his name.

And Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continues to be connected to Bhatia and his bold takeover plot…

Is Jeff Bezos Buying Liverpool FC?

If you’re going to put together an Avengers style group of investors to form your consortium, having the fourth richest person on the planet is certainly a good starting point.

Although the 62-year-old isn’t involved in the day-to-day running of Amazon anymore, he still retains a financial interest – with a net worth of around £185 billion, every day is a good day for Jeff Bezos.

Bhatia and Bezos have reportedly been communicating with one another, although media stories are conflicting in how interested the American is – one wrote that Bezos is ‘mulling over the opportunity’, whereas another reported pessimistically that he’s ‘not certain to proceed’ with his investment.

It’s thought that the billionaire is a sports fan though, with previous takeover bids for the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks thought to have been on Bezos’ radar – albeit neither came to fruition.

It would certainly continue the trend for American investment in the Premier League, with around half of all EPL clubs either fully or part-owned by investors from the United States.