Liverpool supporters want clarity on Jeff Bezos' alleged investment in the club

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FT Desk

A high-profile Liverpool supporters organisation has formally written to the club asking for clarification on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' reported investment in the club.

On Monday, Sky News reported that a consortium involving Bezos, Eduardo Saverin, one of the co-founders of Facebook, and former Queens Park Rangers shareholder Amit Bhatia were close to purchasing a 30% share in Liverpool.

Fenway Sports Group are the majority shareholder of the club currently and they are expected to announce details of the outside investment as early as this week.

Bezos is worth $280 billion, according to Forbes, while Saverin is said to be worth over $32bn. Bhatia is the son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, who is worth just over $34bn.

A cause for concern among Liverpool fans is that neither Bezos nor Saverin have been involved in a sports club before, though the Amazon founder was previously linked with a takeover of NFL side Washington Commanders and, previously, Seattle Seahawks.

The Spirit of Shankly Liverpool supporters' union has written to the Reds asking for clarification on a number of issues.

"Following initial reports of a potential sale of a stake in LFC, Spirit of Shankly wrote to the club at the end of July seeking further information and greater clarity of what it would mean should a sale go ahead," a statement read.

"We asked:

"When is the ownership expecting to conclude a potential sale?

"What will the purchasers get in return – board seats, level of involvement in the control of the club on and off the pitch, dividends or other financial returns?

"Is this part of a planned wider sale, or a one-off?

"What is the reasoning for FSG considering such a sale?

"What due diligence is being done on the potential investors/owners? This is about their plans, reasons for purchase and involvement in sports or business elsewhere

"We also asked for a meeting and reiterated that, given the events that led to FSG’s purchase of the club, who owns it and how they control it – putting the interests of LFC and its supporters first – is fundamental to us all.

"The latest report of a 30% sale and the consortium set up to buy it is significant. The ownership and custodianship of our club is paramount to SOS and all supporters. We have witnessed similar sales at other clubs resulting in notable changes in the running of that club and football operations, leading to decisions and behaviours that many would not want to see at Liverpool.

"The club responded by saying that if anything became more formalised, they would be willing to meet with the Supporters Board. As yet, we have no further information but will keep members informed."

With the 30% purchase of shares from the new investment group, that would value Liverpool at around $6bn.