While the search for investment into Liverpool continues for owners Fenway Sports Group, they will remain 'opportunistic' over adding any further teams to their portfolio.
FSG, owners of Liverpool since 2010, also own the Boston Red Sox MLB team, the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL franchise and the NASCAR team RFK Racing, those sporting assets adding to other business interests that include Fenway Sports Management and FSG Real Estate, as well as investments into the likes of LeBron James' SpringHill Entertainment Company.
The Boston-based ownership group has been seeking investment into Liverpool since late last year as it looks at recapitalising the business ahead of what will likely be an expensive rebuild for the Reds this summer that will, without player sales likely to offset the cost, be impactful when it comes to cash flow.
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While FSG have been open to a sale of the club in its entirety should a lofty valuation of around £4bn be met, it is more likely at present, according to sources in the US, that a minority sale is the direction in which the Liverpool owners head. The same US financial sources, with knowledge of the situation, have maintained to the ECHO that there has been no bids as yet and no talks which have progressed at a high level into anything close to a deal.
Quotes from John Henry have also emerged which back up that stance, with the FSG chief having told the Boston Sports Journal: "Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling LFC? No. Are we talking with investors about LFC? Yes. Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20+ years?"
FSG have been open in the fact that they are in what has been described as 'growth mode' as part of their 'FSG 3.0' plan. That plan is to add more sporting assets and intellectual property to the company's portfolio, which now has a value of more than $10bn, with Liverpool worth approaching half of that total value.
Sources have said that the move to sell a piece of Liverpool wouldn't be to create funds for other ventures away from the football club, in the same way that the sale of 11 per cent of FSG as a whole to RedBird Capital Partners for $750m in March 2021 wasn't designed to aid transfer spend at Liverpool or increased payroll at the Boston Red Sox. That equity sale was designed to provide growth capital for FSG, something that was shown with the November 2021 closing of a deal to acquire a controlling stake in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Moves for both the NBA and NFL have been mooted, with the former where the energy is likely to be when it comes to the next team acquisition. That, however, won't be imminent.
FSG would like an expansion franchise in Las Vegas, with FSG partner and basketball icon James slated to helm the project. But with the NBA yet to decide whether they will expand to 32 teams from the current 30, where the markets they will land in will be and with James still an active NBA player, it won't be a swift process, especially as the League still has the pressing issue of the next set of media rights to discuss as well as securing a collective bargaining agreement with the players' union for the next cycle.
There were erroneous links to the NFL and the Washington Commanders as being a motivation for the Liverpool decision, but with the NFL having a policy of not allowing institutional investment in its ownership groups, and with FSG having the likes of RedBird, Arctos Sports Partners and CAZ Investments within their stakeholders, they would be forbidden from making any such move.
Speaking on the Capital Allocators Private Equity Deals Podcast with Ted Seides, FSG CEO Sam Kennedy said: "We look at what moves the needle.
"Primarily it is big blue chip assets in major markets that hopefully need to ramp up the revenue engine but also the competitive engine on the field, on the pitch, on the ice or on the track. We are passionate about it.
"We have been disciplined. We are very excited about the possibility in other global sports in the United States. We have been public about our fondness or the NBA. The NFL, unless I'm mistaken, they still do not allow institutional capital, probably for good reason, maybe they felt they don't need it, but I think that day is coming. It will be interesting to see what new opportunities might lie ahead for Fenway Sports Group down the road as the rules change in these different leagues."
In that same interview, where Kennedy appeared alongside FSG investor Ian Charles of Arctos, the FSG CEO was quizzed on the current state of play when it came to the search for a deal around Liverpool, either for a full shareholding or a minority stake.
Kennedy said: "We did a while back engage investment banks, we've been open about that.
"We've been open in our willingness to take on investment into the club, will it happen or not, I don't know. But we share a common vision with all of our partners and that is long-term. John (Henry, FSG principal) and Tom (Werner, Liverpool chairman) have been at this for 21 years but you would think they had been at it for 21 days. They are enthusiastic and excited for everything at Fenway Sports Group and think about what's next.
"We do focus a lot on ways that we can help increase revenues (at Liverpool) and the growth we've seen over in Liverpool has been extraordinary, and I think that's because markets like the United States are just sort of catching on to the excitement around this league.
"We'll see what the future holds for Liverpool but it's been an amazing business."
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