FSG's huge investment plan with LeBron James finally confirmed as Liverpool owners plot huge move
Having been rumoured to be in the works for the past 18 months, plans for Fenway Sports Group and its partners to move to acquire an NBA team in Las Vegas were confirmed on Wednesday.
Sources had told the ECHO as far back as 2021 that an NBA franchise was on the agenda for the Liverpool owners, with Reds chairman Tom Werner and FSG partner and Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy both going on record to signpost such a move.
Another to have hinted at franchise acquisition in the world’s biggest basketball league was Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, the US firm that acquired an 11% stake in FSG back in March 2021 through what was a $750m investment play.
Alexis Mac Allister causes Liverpool anger but Jurgen Klopp sees the funny side
Carlo Ancelotti's hidden role in Liverpool evolution and transfer rebuild
Cardinale and RedBird, who purchased Italian giants AC Milan in September of 2022, were joined in that deal by basketball icon LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter, with the RedBird/FSG deal seeing James accrete the stake he previously held in Liverpool into one per cent of the $10bn-valued FSG portfolio.
James’ partnership with FSG and RedBird has since grown. In March of this year the 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star secured additional equity in FSG as part of a lifetime deal he struck with the company, one where Fenway Sports Management would be able to pursue global marketing and sponsorship opportunities for the basketball great.
In the months that followed the RedBird/FSG deal, both firms made an investment in James and Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment content and culture company. Nike and the makers of the Fortnite video games, Epic, were also
Read on liverpoolecho.co.uk
