Bezos-backed 1892 Holdings Secures First Refusal for Liverpool Takeover
Liverpool’s new investor, 1892 Holdings, has secured a powerful clause in its deal with Fenway Sports Group: first refusal on taking control of the club if FSG decide to sell within the next 12 months.
When the agreement was unveiled on Friday, the consortium fronted by Amit Bhatia and featuring Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was widely thought to have acquired around 30% of the club. The reality is bigger. The group has taken a 38% stake in Liverpool, paying just over £2bn for a minority holding and keeping the overall valuation of the Anfield side at roughly £5.5bn.
FSG, who bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010, have been adamant the deal is not the start of a managed exit. They are under no obligation to sell any further shares to 1892. That stance has not changed. The club’s current owners remain in full operational control.
But the contract does shift the landscape. If FSG choose to sell or dilute their majority stake in the coming year, 1892 will have the option to step in first and buy a controlling interest. It is a right, not a requirement, yet it opens a clear route for a change at the top of Liverpool’s ownership structure.
For now, FSG are framing it as exactly that: an option, nothing more. For 1892, it is a potential springboard. For Liverpool, it is the first concrete sign that another set of billionaire backers could realistically replace the Boston-based group in the near future.
That potential new era would be fronted by some of the world’s wealthiest figures. Bezos, one of the richest men on the planet, is described as a passive investor at this stage. His involvement comes via the K5 Sports fund, where he is the lead investor, rather than through a direct personal stake in Liverpool.
K5 Global co-founder and managing partner Bryan Baum will take a seat on an expanded Liverpool board, joining Bhatia, who becomes vice-chair, and Elaine Saverin, wife of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Eduardo Saverin himself is another heavyweight figure within the 1892 consortium, with an estimated fortune of around $33bn.
Bhatia’s move into Liverpool has been underpinned by financial backing from the Mittal Family Trust. His father-in-law, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, is yet another billionaire presence behind the scenes, with the Mittal family worth about $17bn.
The money, the names, the structure – they all point in one direction. FSG are still in charge. But for the first time, the path for Bezos, Bhatia and Saverin to become Liverpool’s majority owners is written into the small print.
