A Saudi-Qatari consortium is readying a bid in the excess of £3bn to acquire Liverpool Football Club, according to reports.
The Sporting News' David Lynch claims that the two Gulf states are exploring the prospect of working with one another in a joint bid for the Anfield club "to avoid a bidding war" for the asset Fenway Sports Group made available for sale in November.
The information also reveals that the keys to the Shankly Gates have attracted interest from German investors, who are said to be "further along in the process of tabling a bid" to the Reds' American owners. It also claimed that an "unnamed American consortium" has registered their interest in potentially acquiring the 2019 Champions League winners.
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The report adds: "[Saudi and Qatar private investors] are preparing an initial bid in the region of £3.2 billion, and their vast shared wealth puts them in a commanding position as they look to complete an Anfield takeover.
"Although the two parties involved are described as private investors, strong links to their respective states inevitably exist."
The rumoured interest comes just weeks after Saudi Arabia's sports minister gave his backing to a potential bid for either Manchester United or Liverpool from the Gulf State, insisting there would be plenty of "interest and appetite" in either of the Premier League giants.
If such a takeover was to take place, Liverpool would become the second Premier League side to be controlled in some capacity by a Saudi-backed consortium. Newcastle United caused uproar in October 2021 when former owner Mike Ashley sold the club to Saudi Arabia's Public Investor Fund, which has an 80% stake in the consortium led by Amanda Staveley.
Ashley's £300m sale of the Magpies sparked an enormous discussion across the Premier League and even made its way to the Houses of Parliament after the group was able to pass the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test despite Saudi Arabia's abhorrent human rights record.
Such events led to Conservative MP Tracy Crouch, the former sports minister, asking whether the proposal from the Middle East would have passed a 'good character' examination, which she believes all investors of Premier League clubs should have to clear before any transaction can be rubber-stamped.
Earlier this week the Boston Globe, a newspaper owned by FSG principal owner John W. Henry, claimed the American group are in dialogue with an "array of suitors" but insisted a partial sale of the club is still the preferred option. There have been sizeable developments behind the scenes at Anfield in recent weeks with Mike Gordon - FSG's most hands-on member on Merseyside - delegating some of his responsibilities to CEO Billy Hogan.
In November it was revealed that FSG had employed US banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to find potential external investment
In a statement sent to the ECHO last month, FSG addressed the reports of a potential sale, which was first broken by The Athletic's David Ornstein, but also reaffirmed their commitment to operations on Merseyside.
"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," read a statement from the American group, led by the principal owner John W. Henry.
"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."
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