Skip to main content

Partial sale most likely outcome at Liverpool

The authoritative Swiss Ramble takes a 'deep dive' into why Liverpool might be for sale - or not: https://swissramble.substack.com/p/liverpool-up-for-sale

Liverpool owner John W Henry has explained FSG’s position, “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. Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling LFC? No. Are talking with investors about LFC? Yes.”

He added, “Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20+ years?”

The sale of Chelsea set a new benchmark for a “Big Six” Premier League club, so may well have acted as a catalyst to at least consider a sale, especially as FSG would (rightly) expect to achieve a higher price than Chelsea, given their advantages over the Blues in terms of history, brand and financial position.

As more Premier League clubs are bought by mega wealthy investors, FSG might conclude that their pockets are not deep enough to keep up.  FSG have only put in £136m since their arrival in the form of loans to help fund stadium expansion. Indeed, since 2017 the club has repaid £37m of these loans.

This is in stark contrast to the owners at Manchester City and Chelsea, who put in £861m and £585m respectively, which has undoubtedly helped propel their successes during this period.

Liverpool’s owners would almost certainly have to invest a lot more in the squad in order to compete at the highest levels, so FSG might prefer to leave this to someone else.

Many Liverpool fans are likely to see FSG’s record as rather mixed and probably feel that the Americans they have taken the club as far as they can.  To their credit, the Reds have won more than their fair share of trophies under their ownership.

However, FSG’s reign has not been blemish-free, as they have made a few high-profile errors, including the deeply unpopular attempt to raise ticket prices, trying to trademark the word “Liverpool”, furloughing staff during the pandemic and most embarrassingly being part of the misguided attempt to form a European Super League.

It is unclear exactly how much would be enough to persuade FSG to sell Liverpool. The Mail on Sunday said that its sources had told them that the owners would accept £2.7bln, while a much higher price of £3.4bln ($4bln) was shared with the Liverpool Echo.  It would appear that a decent valuation for Liverpool would be in the range of £3bln to £4bln, though this even this wide range is very sensitive to the assumptions made.

However, as communicated by Henry, it appears increasingly likely that FSG will only sell a minority stake in Liverpool, as opposed to going for a full takeover. This approach would provide them with funds for player recruitment or further infrastructure investments, while still allowing them to retain control of a valuable asset.

Unless there is a complete turnaround, it does look as FSG will be around for a while longer.

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...