Talks are continuing between Liverpool FC owners Fenway Sport Group and a consortium led by former Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia over purchasing a minority investment in the club.
Bhatia’s group of potential investors also includes billionaires, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin.
The Athletic reported on July 23 that discussions had begun between the two parties over purchasing a stake in the Premier League club and they continue to progress.
This would be the first external minority investment in the club since Dynasty Equity purchased a three per cent stake in Liverpool for approaching $200 million back in September 2023, nearly a year after FSG announced it was open to offers for the club.
In an interview with The Athletic last month, Liverpool’s chief executive Billy Hogan said: “John Henry (Liverpool’s principal owner) has been very up front about the fact that if there ever was an opportunity for investment that would help the club, then they would seriously consider it.”
Bhatia (left) ended his near 19-year association with QPR last month (Jed Leicester via Getty Images)
British-Indian businessman Bhatia, 46, ended his near 19-year association with QPR last month. He is the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who U.S business outlet Forbes list as 64th in their ‘Real Time Net Worth’ table, with a $34billion (£25.16bn) net worth.
He is leading the bid and will be joined by Bezos, who is ranked as the third-richest man by Forbes with a net worth of $284.4bn (£210.5bn). He stepped down as the CEO of Amazon in 2021, but retains the title of executive chairman.
Bezos, 62, is the owner of the Washington Post and founder of space technology company Blue Origin, but this would be his first venture into sports investment. He has explored purchasing NFL franchises the Washington Commanders and the Seattle Seahawks in the past.
Saverin was part of a consortium led by the former co-owner of the basketball team Boston Celtics, Steve Pagliuca, that tried to buy Chelsea in 2022, but they were unsuccessful. He and Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg founded social media site Facebook, and since then, the 43-year-old launched venture fund B. Capital in 2015 alongside Raj Ganguly.
An FSG spokesperson said: “An investment consortium led, managed, and represented by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club.”
