‘I’ve been told’ - Liverpool investment news as finance expert names FSG ‘price tag’

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are aiming to earn up to £500 million from a partial sale of Liverpool.

That is according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking on his podcast The Price of Football.

FSG purchased the club from much-maligned pair Tom Hicks and George Gillett for £300 million in 2010. Since then, seven major trophies have been won - including the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League a year later. In addition, around £180 million has been spent on increasing the capacity at Anfield to 61,000 while £50 million was splashed out on the state-of-the-art AXA Training Centre.

However, last November it emerged that FSG had put the Reds on the market. At the time it wasn’t clear as to whether the American group were looking to part ways with Liverpool completely. Principal owner John Henry confirmed earlier this year that FSG were seeking investment and talks had been held with potential parties.

FSG - who also own Major League Baseball team the Boston Red Sox and National Hockey League outfit the Pittsburgh Penguins - sold 11% of the company to RedBird Capital Partners in April 2021.

Maguire, a senior lecturer in accountancy, finance and accounting at the University of Liverpool, believes that FSG have run the Reds prudently - but being a ‘successful businessman’ is Henry’s chief aim. And he suggested that FSG are seeking between £400-500 million for a stake in the region of 10-15%.

“FSG effectively acquired Liverpool - from the disaster that was Hicks and Gillett and Liverpool were pretty close to being in a very horrible position - for around £300 million,” said Maguire.

“They sold 11% of FSG - who also own American sports franchises - to RedBird Capital for around £500 million. They've got their money back but you've got to acknowledge that Liverpool are only part of the overall portfolio.

“They did announce less than a year ago that they were open to discussions in regard to the sale of Liverpool. That has sort of gone under the radar. All of the focus over the past seven or eight months has been in regard to [the sale of] Manchester United.

“It would now appear that FSG are willing to sell a minority stake direct into Liverpool. From what I've been told, we're talking 10-15% of the club and are looking to get somewhere in the region of £400-500 million for that sale. They bought the whole club for £300 million and are looking to sell the whole club for more than that, which is indicative. They've run the club in a pretty lean manner and pretty successful manner.

“In terms of the money they've put into the club, if you go to the accounts of the parent company called UKSV Holdings Ltd, you'll find FSG have effectively loaned Liverpool £137 million interest-free. We see many other owners lending money to clubs and getting a kickback on it and that money has very much gone into infrastructure.

“If I take a look at Liverpool's accounts for the past 10-15 years in which FSG have been in charge, nearly every year Liverpool have broken even and made some money in the transfer market and recycled that. There have been a couple of years when they lost money, clearly during Covid, but they aim to break even. From their point of view, there is no necessity from the owners to fund the transfer regime and the sale of the likes of [Luis] Suarez, [Philippe] Coutinho, [Raheem] Sterling and Co. They have actually generated a lot of money from the transfer market.

“Their net spend, and I know it's something that gets some fans upset, has been modest. They've not put a huge amount in, the money they have has been invested, has been very focused, very laser-driven, based on doing the sums in advance - which isn't glamourous but in terms of running and business and that's how they see.

“If anyone thinks John Henry is a Liverpool fan, they're daft. It is a franchise as far as he is concerned, you've only got to see his behaviour during Project Big Picture and the Super League that he's got no interest in football but has got an interest in being a successful businessman.”

Liberty Media, the owners of Formula 1, have been linked as one potential suitor who could invest in Liverpool.