Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought equity in English Premier League (EPL) powerhouse Liverpool. It is Bezos' first investment in a sports club.
On the 14th (local time), according to the New York Times (NYT) and others, U.S.-based Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which owns Liverpool, signed a deal to sell about one-third equity to the "1892 Holdings" consortium.
"1892 Holdings," which took its name from Liverpool's founding year, is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. If the transaction is completed, Bhatia will become Liverpool's vice chairman, the NYT said. Bhatia served for about 18 years as a co-owner of the English professional soccer club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and sold his equity in the club last month.
Participants in 1892 Holdings include venture capital (VC) firm K5 Sports and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Among them, K5 Sports is a VC in which Bezos is the largest investor. Bezos will not join Liverpool's board, but Brian Baum, a co-founder of K5 Sports, is set to join it. The equity ratios by investor in the 1892 Holdings consortium were not disclosed, making it difficult for now to confirm how much Liverpool equity Bezos ultimately secured.
British media reported that the size of the transaction is more than £1.5 billion (about 2.88 trillion won) and that Liverpool's club valuation was assessed at more than £5 billion (about 9.6 trillion won).
FSG will retain its position as Liverpool's largest shareholder and its management control after this transaction.