Jeff Bezos Set to Acquire 30% Stake in Liverpool for £1.35bn

Jeff Bezos is on the verge of stepping into English football, with a consortium including the Amazon founder closing in on a deal to buy a 30% stake in Liverpool from Fenway Sports Group (FSG) for around £1.35bn.

The group of investors is led by Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and a former shareholder at Queens Park Rangers. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is also part of the consortium. Between them, they are preparing to inject a vast new layer of wealth into Anfield’s ownership structure.

The agreement is effectively in place after months of talks and is now moving through the final stages of completion. The process, advised on by Deloitte, is expected to take up to a month to formally close.

For Bezos, whose personal fortune Forbes estimates at about $257bn (£190bn), this marks his first move into football ownership. He has previously explored bids for NFL franchises in the United States, but Liverpool would be his first concrete foothold in elite sport. The 62-year-old, now executive chair of Amazon after stepping down as chief executive five years ago, will receive equity in the club as part of the transaction.

His arrival comes with a familiar backdrop. Under Bezos, Amazon has aggressively pushed into live sport as part of its streaming strategy. The company held live UK rights for 20 Premier League matches per season for six seasons until the end of last year, and currently broadcasts the Champions League in several European markets as well as NFL coverage in the US. Now, the man behind that expansion is poised to become a stakeholder in one of the Premier League’s most storied clubs.

For FSG, this is the latest step in a gradual reshaping of Liverpool’s financial and ownership model. The American group bought the club in 2010 and has presided over a modern era that includes two Premier League titles. In 2023, FSG sold a 3% stake to US private equity firm Dynasty Equity; this new deal would represent a far more significant dilution of their sole control, without ceding majority ownership.

The timing is striking. It has already been a summer of upheaval at Anfield. Andoni Iraola has taken over as head coach, replacing Arne Slot. Mohamed Salah, one of the defining figures of the Klopp era, has departed on a free transfer and joined Trabzonspor. Michael Edwards has also left his role as chief executive officer at FSG, removing another key architect of Liverpool’s recent success from the hierarchy.

Into that shifting landscape steps one of the world’s richest men, alongside a consortium of heavyweight investors, to buy almost a third of the club. The scale of the money hints at what Liverpool might become in the next phase of their modern history – and at how fiercely the battle for power and influence around the Premier League’s giants is now being fought.

FSG has been approached for comment.