A group led by Jeff Bezos has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Liverpool
A consortium that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has reached an agreement with Fenway Sports Group to acquire a minority stake in the English soccer club Liverpool. The group will acquire approximately one-third of the English Premier League club, according to CNBC.
According to CNBC sources familiar with the terms of the deal, the minority investment is valued at approximately $7.1 billion. They were not authorized to publicly comment on the details of the agreement. Over the next 12 months, the investment group will have the option to become the majority shareholder of Liverpool at a valuation of approximately $8 billion.
The consortium is called 1892 Holdings, and its main partner in the deal is businessman Amit Bhatia, a former co-owner of Queens Park Rangers. The group also includes K5 Sports and EE Capital—the family office of Elaine and Eduardo Saverin. Eduardo Saverin is a co-founder of Facebook.
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The largest contribution to the minority investment—over $1 billion—will come from K5 Global. Bezos is the lead investor in the K5 fund. Bhattia will become Liverpool’s new vice chairman and join the club’s expanded board. Bezos will not have a seat on the board, but Brian Baum of K5 Sports and Elaine Saverin will join it, according to CNBC sources.
The club stated that the new minority owners will support Liverpool’s long-term ambitions by bringing in experts from the fields of global business, technology, and investment. Fenway Sports Group President Mike Gordon noted that Bhattia and the consortium share the club owners’ long-term approach.
