Liverpool’s new minority investors could become the club’s majority shareholders within the next 12 months, only days after arriving at Anfield specifically as minority investors.
Fenway Sports Group announced last week that it had agreed to sell a stake in Liverpool to 1892 Holdings, a consortium led by Amit Bhatia and backed by investors including Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. FSG stressed at the time that it would retain majority ownership and operational control of the club.
Further details of the agreement have now revealed that the minority position comes with room for expansion.
1892 Holdings has acquired a 38 per cent stake in Liverpool, larger than the roughly 30 per cent initially reported, with the investment worth just over £2billion and valuing the club at around £5.5billion.
The consortium also has an agreement allowing it to potentially acquire a controlling stake should FSG decide to sell or reduce its holding during the next 12 months. The arrangement does not require FSG to sell, and there is no guarantee that another transaction will take place.
For now, FSG remains firmly in charge.
The distinction is important because Liverpool described the original deal as a strategic minority investment designed to support the club’s long-term growth, with Bhatia’s consortium joining the existing ownership structure rather than replacing it.
Bezos himself is a passive investor through K5 Sports, where he is the lead investor, rather than the man directly running the consortium or Liverpool. Bhatia leads and manages 1892 Holdings and is expected to have the more visible role at the club.
None of that means an FSG exit is imminent. The group has insisted the investment is not part of an exit strategy, while the existence of an option for further investment does not commit either side to completing another sale.
Liverpool therefore still have majority owners and minority owners.
The minority owners have simply made arrangements in case those descriptions ever need to be changed.
