Liverpool owners FSG respond to 'serious' record-breaking NBA takeover rumours

Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group, have refuted claims that they are ‘seriously considering’ a bid to acquire the NBA’s Boston Celtics. The Boston-based consortium, headed by John W. Henry, acquired a controlling stake in Liverpool in 2010 and also own the MLB’s Boston Red Sox and NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

Despite sometimes being on the receiving end of fan-based criticisms, FSG has brought success back to Anfield through astute transfer dealings and the particularly clever appointment of manager Jurgen Klopp, who guided Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory under their stewardship.

Any prospective ownership group eyeing an entry into the NBA would need to dig deep into their coffers, however, with the acquisition of an expansion team or a franchise like the Celtics likely to exceed £4billion. This has seemingly put the firm off an approach.

Over the summer, circumstances seemed to favour FSG making a move into professional basketball. Following their Larry O’Brien trophy victory, the Cs were put up for sale by their majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck.

With an estimated value of $6b (£4.6b) and located squarely in FSG’s New England territory, the New York Post reported that the company was ‘considering’ a bid for the record-breaking 18-time champions.

Any potential deal could see the Celtics become the most expensive team in the league’s history, potentially surpassing the record for the most expensive sports team in any league sold, set by the NFL’s Washington Commanders ($6.05b).

However, FSG CEO Sam Kennedy has dismissed such speculation, telling MassLive: “I don’t see it to be appropriate to talk about the Celtics today other than to say congrats on another world championship. But that’s not on our radar right now.”

Despite this, it appears an NBA franchise has been on the company’s agenda before, suggesting there may still be developments to come. As the league plans to expand from 30 to 32 teams, Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital, who hold an 11 per cent stake in FSG, proposed Las Vegas as a possible location for the group to establish NBA roots.

FSG is linked with current Los Angeles Lakers – the Celtic’s long-standing rivals – and NBA legend LeBron James, who became a partner in 2021, and was also considered when Cardinale discussed future plans.

“We’re looking at bringing an NBA expansion team here in partnership with LeBron and Fenway Sports Group,” Cardinale announced in 2023. “We started this project three years ago. The price talk on an NBA team three years ago was US$3 billion. The price talk today on an NBA expansion team is $5.5billion to $6billion.

“I’m not sure I can make that work. Maybe it’s a different type of capital [that we need]. Maybe I’ve evolved out of existence, and maybe now I’m handing the baton over to a sovereign [wealth fund] or to a lower cost-of-capital provider. It could be we’ve reached that point.”