John W Henry has muddied the waters around Liverpool, with his comments on Monday causing some confusion about Fenway Sports Group’s intentions.
Back in early November, FSG made headlines by releasing a statement, which was interpreted as them putting Liverpool up for sale. But months later, and with the sale process of rivals Manchester United in full swing, Henry has now poured cold water on those suggestions.
"I know there has been a lot of conversation and quotes about LFC, but I keep to the facts: we merely formalised an ongoing process," he told 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?"
Confused? You’re not the only ones. The picture of club ownership in the Premier League is a constantly shifting one at the moment, with the Glazers’ efforts to sell United coming after Todd Boehly’s consortium bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
It is within this context that FSG and Henry’s movements with Liverpool need to be understood. If they don’t want a full sale but are “talking with investors”, what is it that Liverpool’s owners want?
A prominent theory is that they want to know exactly how much their asset is worth. Last May, Forbes valued Liverpool at $4.45billion (£3.66bn). Chelsea were sold for a headline figure of £4.25bn in May 2022, but that fee included a commitment of £1.75bn for the development of the stadium, women’s team and to the Chelsea Foundation. The Glazers are understood to be holding out for as much as £6bn for United.
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By looking for a minority investment, FSG – Henry and co-founder Tom Werner – are testing the market. By selling a stake of their club, they can ascertain how much the entire entity is worth.
Back in April 2021, the group sold an 11 per cent stake to RedBird Capital Partners for $750m (£655m). But that decision was taken for a different reason, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had cost the club around £120m in lost revenue.
If they were to sell a minority stake this time, it would bear more similarities with a deal Manchester City struck in 2019. Back then City sold 10 per cent of the club to US tech private equity giant Silver Lake for $500m (£415m) to achieve a valuation of nearly $5bn.
After buying the club for £210m in September 2008, the club’s owners wanted to get a more up-to-date valuation, so they sold a chunk of the company.
FSG took over Liverpool in October 2010, buying the club for £300m from controversial American owners George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks. It seems that, after Chelsea were sold and with United in the process of being sold, they want to know how much Liverpool is worth.
Reading their statement from November back, with the benefit of hindsight, you can read between the lines to see their intentions.
The statement read: “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.
“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.”
FSG will be paying very close attention to what happens with United as the Glazers consider offers from INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar ’s biggest banks. But it seems they are not ready to fully cash in their chips.
