JEFF BEZOS IN TALKS TO JOIN LIVERPOOL INVESTMENT CONSORTIUM

Jeff Bezos has held talks about joining a consortium seeking to acquire approximately 30% of Liverpool Football Club, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions. The group is led by Amit Bhatia, former co-owner of Queens Park Rangers, and has made a provisional offer of £1.35bn to buy a stake from Fenway Sports Group. Bezos would receive equity in Liverpool should any deal proceed with Bhatia's consortium. Fenway Sports Group has confirmed that an investment consortium led by Bhatia has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in the club.

Bhatia's bid values Liverpool at around £4.5bn, higher than the valuation of Manchester United when Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 25% stake two years ago. Bhatia, who transferred his Queens Park Rangers shareholding yesterday to fellow owner Ruben Gnanalingam, is believed to have secured financial backing from his father-in-law, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon with a personal fortune estimated at $257bn, has previously explored bids for NFL franchises Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders without completing acquisitions. This would mark his first exploration of investing in the Premier League. Amazon has held UK broadcasting rights for Premier League matches and currently broadcasts the Champions League across several European countries.

The consortium continues to search for additional potential investors to provide funding for the acquisition. Any investment by Bezos would extend Amazon's portfolio of sports-related commercial interests beyond its existing streaming and broadcasting operations.