- FSG bought Liverpool back in 2010
- Opened door to sale earlier this November
- Werner has since put brakes on any deal
WHAT HAPPENED? FSG had opened the door to a potential sale earlier this month, but Werner quelled any notion of a deal being completed anytime soon on Friday. The company's second-largest shareholder insisted that, despite a plethora of interest from external buyers, they were in no rush to sell Liverpool, either as a football team or outright.
WHAT THEY SAID: "We’re exploring a sale, but there’s no urgency, no time frame for us," Werner said. "As far as I’m concerned, it’s business as usual. One outcome could be our continued stewardship for quite a while.”
His statement comes just a day after FSG partner Sam Kennedy revealed that ”there has been a lot of interest from numerous potential partners considering investment into the club", although he admitted that "it is early days in terms of exploring possibilities for possible investment into Liverpool."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: FSG seem to be putting the brakes on a deal that would see the company relinquish control over Liverpool for the first time since they bought the club back in 2010 for $493 million (£427 million). Kennedy admitted that an outcome, if any can be found, may involve a stakeholder blend which would see the interested party buy into Liverpool as a minority shareholder, before buying enough shares over time to gain majority control.
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DID YOU KNOW? Forbes has estimated that Liverpool's current value is around $4.45 billion (£3.85 billion), making it the 22nd-most valuable sports franchise in the world.
WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? With FSG in no rush, it looks like Liverpool could be waiting a while before any sale is completed, if it happens at all.