LONDON: A consortium headed by British-Indian entrepreneur Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of billionaire Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has agreed to buy a 30% minority equity stake in Liverpool FC in an investment understood to be worth around £1.7 billion.
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Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which bought the club in 2010 for £300 million, has entered into an agreement for the sale of a minority equity stake in Liverpool FC to 1892 Holdings, a consortium led by Bhatia and named after the year Liverpool was founded.
The consortium has investments from Bhatia and the Mittal Family Trusts; venture capital firm K5 Sports, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the lead investor; and EE Capital, the family office of Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co-founder of Facebook, and his wife Elaine.
FSG will continue to retain majority ownership and operational control of Liverpool FC, the world’s fourth most valuable football club. Once the investment deal has been approved, Bhatia, a former director at Queens Park Rangers who relinquished his stake in the club last month, will become Liverpool’s new vice-chairman.
Bhatia said: “To be welcomed as a partner in a club of this stature is a huge privilege. We are making this investment because we believe deeply in Liverpool and its leadership, and we look forward to supporting the club’s continued success for years to come.”
Spirit of Shankly, the official supporters’ union for Liverpool FC, said: “We will be seeking engagement to understand better what this sale and consequent changes will mean for the future of LFC and its fans. It is vital for the game in general that football clubs are run sustainably, as LFC has been, and not an arms race funded by mega-rich individuals or state-backed entities.”
FSG is said to have been attracted by the consortium’s ability to open up networks in India and across Assia and its reach across global business, technology and investment.
