Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Liverpool investors want unprecedented £323m takeover deal in the US
Fenway Sports Group, otherwise known as FSG, are among the most respected investment groups in sport and the Liverpool owners have a portfolio worth around £10bn all told.
Liverpool are just one component of that network, which also includes Major League Basebalꦏl outfit the Boston Red Sox and National Hockey League franchise the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Merseysiders are, however, the only FSG-owned team based outside the United States.
That makes Liverpool unique not only in terms of their geography but also in terms of the broader football finance and governance structure that they oper🐽ate within.
While the trend on the graph has been up and to the right under FSG’s stewardship, Liverpool’s revenue is largely tied to their performance on the♒ pitch.
Yes, the scope of their brand will mean that Liverpool’s commercial income will always be astronomical and, yes, Anfield will𓄧 always be more or less at maximum capacity.
But media revenue is still skewed heavily towards performance, especially in terms of Liverpool’s participation or non-participation in the Champions L💫eague.
The same is not inherently true in US franchise sport, where revenue is pooled on a more even basis and where there iꦛs no jeopardy in terms of relegation or the other slings and arrows of sporting performance.
And it is the risk-free financial environment that has made American sport so at💛tractive to one of FSG’s biggest backers.
FSG financers eyeing another US deal
Increasingly, the multi-club network is the model of football ownership.
Not every multi-club matrix is as brand conscious or interconnected as Man City’s City F🧔ootball Group or Jurgen Klopp’s Red Bull network, however.
The private equity sector is very interested in football and these investment 🔜firms are now buying u🌠p stakes in multiple clubs.
Sometimes, private equity firms will ta🍒ke a controlling stake, as Clearlake Capital have at Chelsea.
But more often, these com🔯panies will acquire a minority stake and be s🦹atisfied with relatively little operational input.
That has been the case at Anfield, where private equity firm Dynasty Equity have bought a small stake in Liver𒈔pool for around £150m.
FSG themselves have also sought investment in their o🎉wn corporate structure via the private equity market, with RedBird Capital and Arctos both having purchase minority st♎akes.
In the latest news, Arctos – who are sꦆomewhat unusual as a sports-specific fund – are now in talks to acquire a minority stake in the NFL ⭕franchise Buffalo Bills.
In August, the NFL agreed to allow private equity investment up to 10 per cent of a franchise’s shares.
That would make the Bills deal the first of its kind in the NFL, which is the most lucrative sports league 🦩in the world by quite a margin.
As well as indirectly being an investor in Liverpool, Dallas-headquartered firm Arctos also own minority stakes in Paris Saint-Germain and Atalantꦉa.
Based on a recent valuation of NFL teams by Sportico, a 10 per cent investment in the Bills is likely to set 🐭Arctos back £323m.
Liverpool’s takeover value compares to other FSG investments
FSG are one of th🐻e only sports conglomerates with more than one team in the top-50 most valuable franchises worldwide.
Liverpool’s value is likely somewh💞ere in the £3-4bn bracket, but 🍌potentially more in the right investment environment.
That means, if FSG decided to cash in tomorrow, they would secure a return of at least 10ꦫ times the £300m they paid for the club in 2010.
It is testament to the brand power, infrastructure and footballing operation that their enterprise value is as high as that wit🤡hout being in a franchise league like th✃e NFL.
For context, Forbes value FSG’s Boston Red Sox – probably FSG’s second most ♊valuable♛ asset – at £3.5bn, while the Pittsburgh Penguins are worth around a third of that.
When could FSG sell Liverpool?
First things first, probably not for a while.
FSG’s decision to realise some of the value of their investment with th♏e minority equity sale to Dynasty Equity in September last year shows they are in no rush to cash out.
Unlike the vast majority of Premier League clubs, Liverpool have bee🐬n broadly profitable for the last decade. Their average annual surplus since 2014 has been £18m.
But FSG clearly fe🐽el that there is still room for the vaꦰlue of their investment to appreciate with greater revenues. The question is how they unlock them.
The introduction of an independent regulator for English football will be the final nail in🌞 the coffin of the European Super League, which FSG once hoped would b💧e a new financial frontier.
Technology appearꩵs to be what most investors, particularly those well-advised private equity fir💦ms, are banking on.
Mixed reality, the metaverse and other Web3 technologies are, they think, the golden ticket when it comes to better engaging with – and monetising⭕ – tꦚheir clubs’ overseas fanbases.
Liverpool have h☂undreds of millions o🐻f supporters worldwide, but only a fraction of those will give money directly to the club.
Converting just a few percent of that follow⭕ing into paying customers would be financially transformative.♍
That is if technology is the panace💞a they think it can be. Some ana💃lysts are more sceptical.