Bezos-Backed Consortium Near Deal for One-Third Liverpool Stake at $6 Billion

A consortium involving Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is close to completing a deal to acquire about one-third of Liverpool Football Club, in a transaction that values the English club at $6 billion and ranks among the highest in sports history.

The consortium is led by Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who sold his entire stake in Championship side Queens Park Rangers last month. The group also includes Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook. Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings put Bezos's net worth at $280 billion, Saverin's at $33 billion and Mittal's at $33.6 billion.

Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owner since 2010, acquired the club for £300 million and sold a minority stake to US private equity firm Dynasty Equity in 2023 at a $4.5 billion valuation. Under Fenway, Liverpool have won two Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy, with the 2019-20 season marking the club's first English top-flight title in 30 years and its first in the Premier League era. Fenway confirmed last month that the consortium had expressed interest in a strategic minority investment in the club.

Bezos has never invested in football but has previously weighed bids for NFL teams the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders, as well as NBA franchise the Boston Celtics, none of which were completed. Saverin was part of a consortium that in 2022 attempted to acquire Chelsea during the club's forced sale, losing to a group led by US investor Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital, in a deal worth approximately £4.25 billion.