US investors and ex-Liverpool chairman named as early candidates to buy club

The news that Fenway Sports Group are inviting offers for Liverpool FC has prompted speculation over another group of American investors.

News broke on Monday that FSG were exploring the possibility of selling their majority stake in Liverpool, seeking help from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in doing so.

It comes at an interesting time, with Jurgen Klopp admitting the difficulty in competing with state-funded clubs such as Newcastle and Man City, and has sparked anticipation among supporters.

As it stands, it is unlikely that any sale of Liverpool will go through any time soon, with the Times‘ Paul Joyce describing FSG’s initiative as “purely exploratory.”

However, his report – co-written by Matt Lowton – has named two groups from the United States who are believed to be early candidates for any deal.

Those are the Ricketts family, owners of Major League Baseball franchise the Chicago Cubs, and a consortium led by former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.

The Ricketts family previously looked into a deal to purchase Tottenham and were among the bidders for Chelsea, prior to the successful deal with Todd Boehly’s consortium.

Broughton was also involved in the bidding process for Chelsea, supported by investment banker Michael Klein, Creative Artists Agency and Evolution Media Capital among others.

Liverpool are valued at around £3.9 billion by Forbes and the Times report claims that FSG “could expect to top” the figures associated with the Chelsea deal, which was worth £2.5 billion and a pledge to invest another £1.75 billion.

It is added, however, that FSG “also have a plan if they were to continue as owners,” reiterating that there is no concrete decision at this stage.

Links with Broughton are particularly interesting, given his previous ties to Liverpool, having overseen the sale of the club from Tom Hicks and George Gillett to FSG back in 2010.

Broughton spent six months in the position before being succeeded by FSG chairman Tom Werner.

FSG purchased Liverpool for just £300 million, and could stand to sell for at least 12 times their investment if early projections ring true.