Jeff Bezos consortium nears £4.5bn stake in Liverpool

A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is closing in on a deal to buy a roughly one-third stake in Liverpool, with Fenway Sports Group (FSG) preparing to announce the transaction as soon as this week. The syndicate is led by British-Indian investor Amit Bhatia and also includes Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and would value the club at around £4.4bn–£4.5bn ($6bn), one of the highest valuations in football history.

Under the terms being finalised, the group is expected to acquire just over 30% of Liverpool, with FSG retaining control of the club. The deal would see Bezos, whose fortune is estimated at more than £200bn, become a co-owner of one of England’s most successful teams alongside Saverin, worth more than £23bn, and Bhatia, son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.

The move marks a major financial milestone for FSG, who bought Liverpool for about £300m in 2010 when the club was in serious debt. A minority stake sale at this level would value the Reds at roughly 15 times that original price, underlining the growth in the club’s commercial power and global brand over the past 16 years.

FSG confirmed last month that an investment consortium led by Bhatia had expressed interest in making a “strategic minority investment” in Liverpool, but gave no details on timing or size. The new investors are seen as bringing significant capital and commercial expertise, with Bezos’ involvement highlighting how top football clubs are increasingly treated as premium global assets by ultra-wealthy investors.

Reaction among supporters is likely to be mixed. Some will welcome the extra financial muscle and the prospect of Liverpool becoming even richer, while others will be cautious about the motives of investors with no prior link to the club and the long-term implications of such a high-profile ownership structure. For now, the expectation is that an official announcement will come within days, confirming one of the biggest deals in Premier League history.