Finance

Liverpool ‘up for sale’ as FSG considers new shareholders

Featured image credit: David Bayliss on Unsplash

Fenway Sports Group, which owns Premier League football team Liverpool, has confirmed that it is considering new shareholders for the club.

The Athletic has reported that a full sales presentation has been produced for interested parties, with FSG said to be considering selling a club that it has owned since 2010. The report added that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are assisting with the process.

FSG also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and NHL ice hockey team the Pittsburgh Penguins. The group bought Liverpool in October 2010 from US businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

In a statement to The Athletic, FSG said: “There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool.

“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool. FSG has said before that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club. FSG remains fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.”

The Athletic said that FSG is “inviting offers” for Liverpool, but it remains unclear whether any sale will be carried out.

Liverpool has won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League under FSG’s ownership, and the club has also carried out extensive redevelopment work at its Anfield stadium.

Anfield’s current capacity is around 54,000 following the expansion of the Main Stand in 2016. That project added 9,000 seats to Anfield’s capacity and work is now being carried out to add a further 7,000 seats to the Anfield Road Stand.

Work on the Anfield Road Stand expansion commenced last year and Liverpool announced last week that the next phase of the project will see its roof lifted off and replaced with a brand-new one. The project will extend Anfield’s overall capacity to 61,000 and is on course to be completed for the start of the 2023-24 season.

Last year, US private investment firm RedBird Capital acquired a near 10% stake in FSG. In August, RedBird formally concluded its takeover of AC Milan in a deal that values the Serie A club at €1.2bn (£1.05bn/$1.2bn).