The number that landed on Friday, August 14, was wrong. Fenway Sports Group did not sell 30% of Liverpool to Amit Bhatia’s 1892 Holdings but 38%, according to reporting from The Athletic on Tuesday.

Jeff Bezos personally contributed more than $1 billion to 1892 Holdings, his first move into sports ownership. The world’s third-richest man will not sit on the Liverpool board.

The stake was bought through K5 Sports, part of the K5 Global Fund with Bezos as lead investor, alongside the Mittal Family Trusts, EE Capital (the family office of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife Elaine) and Bhatia himself. The consortium is led and managed by Bhatia, a 46-year-old British Indian entrepreneur and former Queens Park Rangers chairman.

A 12-month option on control

Buried in FSG’s original announcement was the mechanism that gives this deal its real weight. 1892 Holdings has an option to move to a controlling stake within 12 months, at a valuation reportedly around $8bn.

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If 1892 Holdings ultimately acquires a controlling stake, FSG would relinquish majority control of the club it has owned since 2010.

Gordon points to the long term

FSG president Mike Gordon issued a statement to accompany the sale.

“Liverpool has always been built by thinking beyond one season and making decisions with the club’s long-term interests in mind.“

For now, FSG retains majority ownership and operational control. No changes to day-to-day leadership have been announced, and the sporting operation that handles transfers is untouched. No separate transfer budget has been carved out from the new money.

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Elaine Saverin joins the Liverpool board. So does Bryan Baum of K5 Sports. Bhatia becomes vice-chairman.

Amit Bhatia spoke for the consortium.

“We are incredibly proud to be investing in Liverpool Football Club and to be doing so alongside FSG.”

Fans push back

The reaction inside Liverpool was not uniformly welcoming. The Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union raised concerns about the due diligence that preceded the deal and about the motives of the incoming investors.

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The window in which 1892 Holdings can move for control runs to August 2027.

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