Fenway Sports sells up to $200 million stake in Liverpool FC

Fenway Sports Group has ended its search for new investment in Liverpool FC by selling a minority stake in the English football club to New York-based private equity firm Dynasty Equity.

The deal for the English Premier League team follows an extensive search by bankers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, which had been seeking investment for the team. Dynasty Equity will invest between $100 million and $200 million, according to a person close to the deal. 

Co-founded last year and led by Jonathan M. Nelson and Don Cornwell, Dynasty Equity is an investment firm focused on acquiring minority interests in sports franchises and other related assets. 

European football teams, such as Paris Saint-Germain and Wolverhampton Wanderers, have increasingly been taking or seeking minority investment from financial partners as have leagues, including La Liga and Serie A.

“Our long-term commitment to Liverpool remains as strong as ever,” said FSG president Mike Gordon in a statement. “We have always said that if there is an investment partner that is right for Liverpool then we would pursue the opportunity to help ensure the club’s long-term financial resiliency and future growth.”

The minority investment will primarily be used to pay down bank debt incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and spending to enlarge Anfield Stadium and develop training facilities and the team roster.

Fenway announced it was exploring strategic opportunities for Liverpool, including a possible sale, last year. At the time GlobalData analyst Conrad Wiacek estimated that the historic team, one of England’s most successful ever, could be worth as much as $5 billion.

Fenway took over Liverpool for about £300 million ($366 million) in 2010 in what was a forced sale by the American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks.