Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain's ownership link laid bare amid £8bn FSG takeover theory

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Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, who are preparing to face each other in the Champions League quarter-finals, share an ownership link through the private equity firm Arctos.Liverpool’s primary owners, of course, are Fenway Sports Group. Another private equity firm in Dynasty Equity meanwhile bought a direct but small stake in 2023.This week, FSG confirmed that their plans to launch a multi-club network had been frozen, having explored takeovers of Bordeaux, Malaga, Monaco and others over the last year or so.However, Liverpool do in fact already exist in something of a loose multi-club network.

CHANGE MY MIND: Liverpool are still the best team in Europe on their day After watching all of the other quarter-finalists, the Reds have nobody to fear in the Champions League 🏆 Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images Alongside those links, one of FSG’s single largest shareholders, Arctos, owns a significant minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Serie A’s Atalanta, the MLS’s Portland Timbers and dozens of other sports assets.In a move emblematic of private equity’s tightening grip on sport, Arctos themselves were acquired by KKR, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms by assets owned, in February.Private equity firms see sport as an ‘asset class’ which consistently outperforms public markets. Just look at FSG’s investment in Liverpool, a £300m takeover now worth £6-8bn, depending on who you ask.For FSG, who have yet to make any money from Liverpool besides the £127m they pocketed from the minority sale to Dynasty Equity, the question is: when is the best time to exit the deal?This week, Rousing The Kop has spoken to several reliable industry sources who have suggested that the abandonment of Michael Edwards’ multi-club project signals that the time is approaching.

And while just as many sources say there is no reason to believe a decision on a sale is imminent, the Boston-based regime’s plan has always been one centred around capital appreciation: buy low, sell high.If FSG are exploring a potential sale, it would be far less complex from a regulatory perspective to go to the market with Liverpool as a standalone entity – in terms of direct multi-club links, at least. Ultimately, people don’t know who’s behind private equity – it has got the word ‘private’ in it for a reason.