Liverpool primed for business: Bezos, Bhatia and the next steps at Anfield

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What has happened?A consortium led by Amit Bhatia, the former co-owner of Queens Park Rangers and son-in-law of the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has opened talks with Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, over buying a significant stake in the club. Discussions began three months ago but FSG insists the talks remain at a preliminary stage.Where does this value Liverpool?The reported offer values Liverpool at about £4.5bn.

The company has parked plans to buy a second club – a decision that led to Michael Edwards’s recent departure as FSG’s chief executive of football – and last summer funded the biggest transfer outlay in Liverpool’s history of almost £450m. In 2023, FSG sold a reported 4% stake in Liverpool to Dynasty Equity, an American sports investment company, for £164m.

Bezos is no longer chief executive of Amazon but is executive chair of a company that has expanded from online retail into entertainment and sports rights, including for Premier League games, in recent years.What would it mean for Liverpool’s finances?Even without Bezos on board, the consortium’s proposed offer would improve Liverpool’s capital considerably as the club begins a new era under Andoni Iraola. With the FSG president, Mike Gordon, returning to a more prominent role at the club after Edwards’s exit, it seems unlikely that Liverpool’s owners would follow the Glazers’ example with Ratcliffe at Manchester United and grant a minority shareholder full control on the football side.