Bezos consortium nears £4.4bn Liverpool investment

Fenway Sports Group is nearing an agreement to sell a stake of more than 30% in Liverpool to a consortium featuring Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, in a transaction that could value the Premier League club at £4.4bn.The investor group is being led by former Queens Park Rangers shareholder Amit Bhatia, with an announcement potentially coming within days as FSG prepares to complete one of the largest minority investments in football.An FSG spokesperson previously said: “An investment consortium led, managed, and represented by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club.”The reported £4.4bn valuation, equivalent to about US$6bn, would represent a substantial increase on the £300m FSG paid to acquire Liverpool in 2010 and underline the continued escalation of valuations around leading Premier League clubs.The proposed investment is also understood to be larger than initially expected, with the consortium potentially acquiring more than 30% while leaving FSG in control of Liverpool.Bezos would bring significant financial capacity to the ownership group, while Saverin has previous experience of football investment processes after participating in an unsuccessful consortium bid for Chelsea in 2022.Bhatia brings direct experience from English football through his previous involvement with QPR and leads AyBe Capital, an investment business spanning technology, media, real estate, consumer and healthcare assets.The deal would represent another step in FSG’s strategy of bringing external capital into Liverpool without relinquishing control, following Dynasty Equity’s investment in 2023.Dynasty acquired a stake of less than 4% in a transaction reportedly worth up to US$200m, valuing Liverpool at more than US$4.5bn at the time and providing capital to strengthen the club’s balance sheet.The new investment would arrive as Liverpool continue expanding commercially through international retail, sponsorship and digital initiatives, while maintaining significant spending requirements around the playing squad and infrastructure.A consortium containing Bezos, Saverin and Bhatia would also inevitably increase speculation over whether the investors could eventually seek control, although the current negotiations concern only a strategic minority position.Completion at the reported valuation would crystallise a substantial increase in FSG’s investment while giving Liverpool access to an ownership group containing some of the deepest private capital in global sport.