Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group may seek a 'strategic partner' in their search for new investment.
At the start of November the Reds owners were revealed to have opened themselves up to interest in a full takeover having spent more than a year looking for outside investment and having engaged major US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to aid that process.
Well placed sources in the US told the ECHO last month that the Reds owners were seeking any investment or takeover interest at a minimum valuation on the business of $4bn (£3.3bn) but that it would likely take a higher figure for any takeover bid to come to fruition.
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Since their openness to a sale was first revealed by the Athletic, FSG have been linked with a host of consortiums who have reportedly been interested, from private equity, to Indian billionaires, to sovereign wealth funds.
Last week the Boston Globe, a newspaper privately owned by FSG chief and Liverpool principal owner John W. Henry, reported that the Reds owners, while remaining open to the possibility of a sale if they received a major bid, were leaning towards selling a partial stake in the club to a minority investor, a move that could create funds for player recruitment or capital improvement.
Similarly well-placed sources in America have told the ECHO that a sale to a 'strategic' partner would be a preferable outcome, with Henry understood to be keen to hold onto the ownership of Liverpool and not in any rush to make a hasty exit from the club he and FSG acquired in 2010 for £300m.
Also understood to be keen to maintain a stake, albeit indirectly, in Liverpool are RedBird Capital Partners, the New York-based investment fund that took an 11 per cent slice of the whole FSG empire back in March 2021 for $750m. RedBird, who have since acquired a controlling interest in Italian giants AC Milan, are only 19 months into their investment, of which Liverpool's value as an asset was a significant part.
While a huge offer presenting itself could force FSG into a sale, sources say that a more likely scenario is a strategic partner coming on board, potentially a major player in the media and entertainment space, and taking a slice of the club and bringing expertise, platform and the ability to scale the business further into the ranks. That would likely be a preferred outcome for significant investors such as RedBird, with FSG understood to be unlikely to partner with passive private equity to free up capital, instead wanting a strategic growth partner.
FSG do want to add an NBA team in the future, with an expansion franchise in Las Vegas at the top of their list, one that basketball icon LeBron James could helm as owner when he retires from a glorious career on the hardwood. But it has been reaffirmed that any move to sell either a part of or a full stake in Liverpool isn't intrinsically linked to any need for a capital raise to facilitate such a move.
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