Liverpool’s owner is in talks over selling a significant minority stake to a consortium led by the Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia and backed by his father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire Indian steel magnate.
Fenway Sports Group confirmed in a statement to the Financial Times that it had begun negotiations with a group led by Bhatia over a potential share sale that would value Liverpool at about £4.5bn.
“An investment consortium led and managed by Amit Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club,” the statement said.
FSG paid £300m to take control of Liverpool in 2010 and is poised to secure a spectacular return on its investment. The Boston-based investment group led by John W Henry, who also own the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins, has previously held discussions over a minority sale without reaching agreement, but with the Mittal family managing assets of £16bn there is no doubt the buyers have the resources to execute the transaction.
Industry sources expressed surprise at the purported £4.5bn valuation, which is far higher than recent sales of similar sized Premier League clubs.
Chelsea were bought four years ago by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital group for £2.5bn, although that was a distressed sale because the owner Roman Abramovich was subject to UK government sanctions, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of 25% of Manchester United in 2024 valued the club at £3.9bn.
In an indication of the seriousness of the consortium’s bid for Liverpool Bhatia resigned as a director of QPR on Tuesday after 19 years. The London-born entrepreneur has held numerous leadership roles at QPR since investing in the club in 2007. He said: “QPR has been a deeply important part of my life, and of my family’s life … I step back from my formal responsibilities with pride, gratitude and affection.”
Liverpool are in the US under their new head coach, Andoni Iraola, for a pre-season tour which begins with a game against Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday.
