The Athletic reported last Monday that Fenway Sports Group has decided to put Liverpool up for sale.
Since then, many high-profile parties have already considered buying the Premier League giant, including Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
Despite there being some lingering doubts about FSG’s decision for a 100% sale of the Merseyside, there is growing interest from many investors to take ownership of the club.
The latest addition to Merseyside club’s potential new owner list is a US-based company named Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment or HSBE.
So, Why Is There So Much Interest For Buying Liverpool?
Liverpool proves to be a viable investment opportunity for many investors mainly because the club is debt-free and has all the latest infrastructure in place already, including a renovated stadium and a new training facility.
So, it doesn’t seem all that surprising to see so many high-profile names such as HSBE being interested in the club.
Who Exactly Are HSBE?
HSBE, an American sports company is co-owned by Joshua Harris and David Blitzer.
It has an excellent portfolio with ownership stakes in prominent American sports teams like the NBA franchise Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL team New Jersey Devils.
Interestingly enough, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer already have an 18% stake in fellow Premier League outfit, Crystal Palace.
In addition to that, their company, HSBE was also in the race for buying Chelsea.
They were the main backers of Sir Martin Broughton’s bid to buy the West London outfit before Todd Boehly took ownership of the club from Roman Abramovich.
How Is HSBE Connected To FSG?
HSBE has an interesting connection with current Liverpool owners, FSG through Arctos Sports Partners.
Turns out, Arctos has a minority stake in both, HSBE as well as FSG.
All these things may point towards the possibility of the sale going through between the two parties.
However, the $3 billion net worth of HSBE isn’t sufficient for the reported asking value of Liverpool, which is around $3.7 billion.
So, they will most likely need additional partners to consider bidding for the PL club.
Josh Harris’ other company Apollo Global Management, which manages over $30 billion worth of assets, could potentially partner up with HSBE for this deal.
What Do The Fans Have To Say About The Potential New Owners?
Liverpool fans reacted to the news about HSBE’s interest by saying that the company isn’t financially big enough to buy the club.
Not only that, the supporters aren’t particularly fond of the American organization taking over their club.
Many of them pointed out that they are not a good fit as owners and also suggested that they will only look to maximize their profits rather than focus on the club’s development.
As a Philadelphia 76ers fan, I know firsthand that HSBE are terrible owners. I’d rather stick with FSG if these are my only two choices
— CD 🇺🇦🌻 (@cd_in_bk) November 16, 2022
FSG has made it clear in its statement that it will only consider offers that are in the best interests of the club.
So, it will be interesting to see which potential candidate will seem like the best fit according to the current leadership.
