A group led by the son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is in talks to buy a minority stake in Premier League soccer team Liverpool from Fenway Sports Group—and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reportedly may join the bid.
FSG, which in addition to Liverpool owns the Red Sox and backs the PGA Tour’s for-profit commercial entity, confirmed on Tuesday there are discussions with a group led by Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, about a “strategic minority investment” in Liverpool. The Mittal family, which includes Aditya Mittal—a Celtics minority owner who just lost out on buying the Seahawks to a group led by 49ers minority owner Vinod Khosla—is also part of the group (Aditya is Lakshmi’s son).
A deal could value Liverpool at around $6 billion, the Financial Times reported.
After that news came out, Sky News reported that Bezos has “held discussions” about joining the consortium, although the report cautioned there is no guarantee he will end up investing. Representatives for two of Bezos’s companies, Amazon and Blue Origin, did not respond to requests for comment (Bezos also owns the Washington Post).
Although he has yet to wade into the world of sports ownership, Bezos’s name often comes up when teams are for sale given his deep pockets (he is the world’s fourth-richest person with a net worth of almost $254 billion, according to Forbes). As examples, he was linked to the Commanders in 2021, before they ultimately sold to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion, and his name came up when the Celtics were for sale (although a source close to Bezos later denied his interest).
Bhatia, who for the last 18 seasons has co-owned the EFL Championship’s Queens Park Rangers, stepped down from the team’s board on Tuesday and agreed to “transfer” his stake in the club to majority owner Ruben Gnanalingam. The statement announcing his departure did not mention the potential Liverpool bid.
A source familiar with the matter tells Front Office Sports that discussions with the Bhatia-led group are preliminary and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached. If a deal does happen, it would not be the first time FSG has sold a minority stake in Liverpool; in 2023, private-equity firm Dynasty Equity acquired a minority stake in the soccer club.
Harsh Talikoti of investment bank Houlihan Lokey tells FOS that the reported $6 billion valuation “underlines how far premium sports franchises have moved from trophy assets to institutional-grade investments.”
“Scarcity is the defining feature,” Talikoti said. “Clubs like Liverpool, with more than 130 years of history, 20 English league titles, six European Cups and a genuinely global fanbase, simply cannot be replicated, and their diversified revenues across media rights, matchday and commercial partnerships make them attractive to long-term capital.”
From Minority to Majority Owners
That the Bhatia group is eyeing a minority stake also underscores a growing trend in pro sports. Vinod Khosla, who just bought the Seahawks, owns a minority stake in the 49ers that he will have to divest before his deal for Seattle can be completed. David Tepper, who in 2018 bought the Panthers, was previously a minority investor in the Steelers. Leagues like the NFL generally view potential majority owners more favorably if they are first minority owners, because those minority deals require due diligence that makes it easier for people to be vetted once they’re trying to become majority owners, multiple sources have told FOS.
Another reason the Bhatia-led group may be appealing to the Premier League is that the Mittal family has been building a portfolio of sports investments that shows they can be good stewards of franchises. In addition to Aditya Mittal’s $1 billion minority investment in the Celtics, the family’s patriarch, Lakshmi Mittal, purchased the Rajasthan Royals of the Indian Premier League in May for $1.65 billion.
Talikoti said it’s “telling” that the interest in Liverpool comes from a “family with an established sports portfolio,” which represents a “sign of capital converging across leagues on the same underlying thesis.”
“Minority stakes have become the preferred entry point, letting investors gain exposure to that growth story while incumbent owners retain control and crystallize value,” Talikoti added.
Editors’ note: RedBird Capital Partners owns a stake in Fenway Sports Group. RedBird IMI, in which RedBird Capital Partners is a joint venture partner, is the primary investor in Front Office Sports.
