Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin are reportedly part of an investment consortium negotiating to acquire a substantial minority stake in Liverpool, with talks over almost a third of the Premier League club’s shares understood to have advanced significantly.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s owner, has been in discussions with the consortium for around three months. The group is led by British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia, who is the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
A source familiar with the discussions told our representative that negotiations were continuing and moving in a positive direction. Sky News has reported that an announcement could potentially be made as early as next week.
The proposed transaction would value Liverpool at approximately £4.5 billion. If completed, it would bring a group of prominent international investors into the ownership structure of one of English football’s most successful and commercially valuable clubs.
Despite the enormous financial resources of the potential investors, however, their arrival would not automatically give Liverpool freedom to spend without restriction in the transfer market. Premier League financial regulations, including the squad cost ratio framework, place limits on the proportion of a club’s football-related revenue and relevant transfer income that can be committed to player and squad costs.
That means any new capital could have a broader strategic impact than simply funding transfers. Additional investment could help Liverpool expand commercial operations, develop infrastructure and strengthen technological and football-related facilities. It could also provide the club with greater financial flexibility as it seeks to remain competitive domestically and in European competition.
Bhatia has considerable experience in English football. Last month, he stepped down from the board of Championship club Queens Park Rangers and transferred his shares to Ruben Gnanalingam. Bhatia had been associated with QPR for around 18 years.
Bezos and Saverin would bring considerable financial strength to the proposed consortium. Forbes has estimated Bezos’s fortune at more than $280 billion, while Saverin’s wealth has been put at more than $32 billion. Saverin was also previously involved in a consortium that attempted, unsuccessfully, to purchase Chelsea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Liverpool has been owned by FSG since October 2010, when the American group bought the club from Tom Hicks and George Gillett for around £300 million. Under FSG, Liverpool have won two Premier League titles and one Champions League, while significant investment has also gone into the redevelopment of Anfield and the construction of the club’s training centre at Kirkby.
The proposed minority investment has inevitably prompted speculation about FSG’s longer-term intentions. A sale of almost one-third of the club could raise questions over whether the American ownership group is gradually preparing to reduce its involvement. The current discussions, however, do not necessarily indicate a full withdrawal from Liverpool.
Indeed, the arrangement could follow the model of FSG’s previous minority investment deal. In 2023, the group sold a smaller stake in Liverpool to Dynasty Equity for a reported £80 million to £160 million. At the time, FSG president and Liverpool’s principal figure in the club’s day-to-day operations, Mike Gordon, stressed that the ownership group remained committed to the club for the long term.
For now, the focus is on whether the latest negotiations can be brought to a conclusion. If the proposed deal is completed, Liverpool would gain several high-profile investors while FSG would retain its position within the club’s ownership structure, potentially giving the Premier League giants another source of capital for their next phase of development.
