Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, has bought into Liverpool as part of a consortium after reaching a definitive agreement with majority owners Fenway Sports Group to purchase a minority stake.
1892 Holdings, led by former QPR director Amit Bhatia and including the Amazon owner Bezos and Eduardo Saverin, one of the founders of Facebook, will have a share of 30 percent of the Premier League club worth £1.5bn.
Bezos’ personal wealth is in the region of $270bn, with fans anticipating the arrival of his riches will result in a spending spree at Anfield.
However, there will be no change to Liverpool’s transfer budget or policy, with no new funds being allocated for Andoni Iraola as he looks to bolster his squad before the 1 September deadline.
After splashing out £450m last summer, breaking their transfer record twice first on Florian Wirtz and then on Alexander Isak, Liverpool have so far had a much more modest window of spending, their only permanent signing being Victor Munoz for £35m before this week’s loan acquisition of Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo.
They have also been heavily linked with Bradley Barcola but are unwilling to meet Paris Saint-Germain’s reported £145m asking price.
Bezos’ introduction to the fold will not alone push Liverpool to make a bid in this region, with transfer decisions remaining up to the club’s sporting side, led by director of football Richard Hughes.
The club are also bound by financial sustainability rules.
Bezos will not become a director of Liverpool but an expanded board will include Bryan Baum from K5 Sports, a fund in which Bezos is the lead investor, and Elaine Saverin, wife of Eduardo, the Brazilian venture capitalist who launched Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg and is now based in Singapore.
Bhatia, meanwhile, will become a vice-president of Liverpool are being FSG’s primary partner in their negotiations. The son-in-law of the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and another billionaire, he has impressed FSG personally and professionally and they consider him a partner who respects the club’s history and identity.
The American group have often fielded inquiries from possible buyers and, while they had no financial need to sell, were impressed by the calibre of people involved in 1892 Holdings and their range of experience and expertise.
FSG bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010. The 1892 investment now places the value of the club at just over $7bn (£5.1bn).
The documents in the transaction offer some flexibility of how the relationship between FSG and 1892 could develop over time but it is not a pre-determined plan towards full ownership.