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World's fourth-richest man Jeff Bezos 'nears deal' to buy Liverpool stake

A consortium including the Amazon founder and one of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos, is reportedly close to buying a major stake in Liverpool

[Jeff Bezos]

Jeff Bezos is close to buying a stake in Liverpool(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

A consortium including Amazon founder and one of the richest men in the world Jeff Bezos is close to buying a one-third stake in Liverpool.

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) confirmed last week that Amit Bhatia was leading a consortium that was showing interest in investing in the Premier League club.

Bezos was reportedly approached by the consortium to buy a stake in the Anfield giants, alongside one of Facebook's co-founders Eduardo Saverin. Bhatia is the son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and was a shareholder in Championship side QPR until recently.

[Liverpool owners FSG are in talks with an Amit Bhatia-led group over a minority investment.]

Liverpool owners FSG are in talks with an Amit Bhatia-led group over a minority investment.(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Bezos is the fourth-richest man in the world with a fortune estimated at over $280bn (207bn) by Forbes. Saverin is said to be worth over $32bn (23.7bn), while Bhatia's father-in-law Mittal has a net worth of more than $20bn (14.8bn).

If the purchase is completed, the deal would see three of the world's wealthiest men become co-owners of the Reds.

FSG reportedly prefer to bring in minority partners to raise capital without relinquishing overall management of the club.

A spokesperson for FSG said last month: "An investment consortium led, managed, and represented by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club."

According to Sky News, an insider has said the deal is expected to be slightly larger than previously thought, with the stake potentially in the region of 30 per cent.

The discussions taking place between FSG and Bhatia's consortium are said to value Liverpool at $6bn (4.5bn). That would be broadly comparable to the valuation placed upon Premier League and north-west rivals Manchester United when the Ineos group bought a stake two years ago.

Consortium frontman Bhatia spent 18 seasons with QPR as co-owner and director before transferring his ownership stake to the majority shareholder, Ruben Gnanalingam.

Meanwhile, Bezos is said to have explored bids for NFL teams in the past. The Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders have been a source of his interest, but he decided not to proceed with either deal.

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