A group of investors that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is closing in on an agreement to acquire a significant minority stake in Liverpool, with reports suggesting the transaction could be finalized within weeks. The consortium is spearheaded by Amit Bhatia, a British-Indian businessman who recently stepped down from his long-standing position on the board of Queens Park Rangers after 18 years as a shareholder.
According to multiple reports, the group is negotiating to purchase roughly 30% of the Premier League club from current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG). The Guardian reported that the price for the stake is expected to be in the region of £1.35bn, valuing Liverpool at approximately £4.5bn, or around $6bn — a figure that would rank among the largest transactions in football ownership history.
Bhatia, who is married to the daughter of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, is joined in the consortium by Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook. Saverin's personal wealth is estimated at around $32bn, while Bezos, who founded Amazon and remains its executive chairman, has a fortune reported by Forbes to be between $256bn and $280bn, making him the fourth-richest person on the planet.
FSG, which has owned Liverpool since 2010 after purchasing the club for roughly £300m amid financial turmoil, publicly acknowledged last month that it had been contacted by Bhatia's group. A spokesperson for the ownership group stated at the time: "An investment consortium led, managed, and represented by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club."
Sky News, which first reported the advancing negotiations, indicated that an official announcement from FSG could come within days, though the Guardian noted the deal, while effectively agreed upon, may take up to a month to formally close. Financial advisory firm Deloitte is reportedly assisting with the transaction, and Bezos is expected to receive equity as part of his involvement.
This would mark Bezos's first direct investment in the football industry, though he has dabbled in sports ownership interests before. Last year, he explored the possibility of acquiring NFL franchises, including the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders, though neither pursuit came to fruition. Amazon, under Bezos's broader business empire, has increasingly moved into sports broadcasting, having held UK streaming rights to 20 Premier League matches per season for six years until last year, in addition to broadcasting Champions League football across parts of Europe and NFL games in the United States.
FSG's tenure at Anfield has included considerable success on the pitch, with the club claiming two Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy since the American ownership group took over. The Boston-based company, which also owns Major League Baseball's Red Sox and the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, previously sold a smaller 3% stake in Liverpool to investment firm Dynasty Equity in 2023 to raise capital following the financial pressures of the pandemic, though that cash injection was not earmarked for player transfers.
The potential arrival of such deep-pocketed investors comes during a period of notable transition at the club. Andoni Iraola has taken over as head coach, replacing Arne Slot, while star forward Mohamed Salah departed on a free transfer to join Trabzonspor. FSG also saw chief executive Michael Edwards leave his post this summer.
While the current proposal is structured as a minority investment, the scale of wealth involved has fueled speculation about whether the new investors might eventually pursue a larger ownership role at the club in the future.
Based on reporting from The Independent, The Guardian, London Standard, and BBC Sport.