Latham Advises 1892 Holdings, a Consortium Led and Managed by Amit Bhatia, on Acquisition of a Strategic Minority Stake in Liverpool F.C.
Latham & Watkins has acted as principal legal counsel to 1892 Holdings, a consortium led and managed by Amit Bhatia, with investments from Amit Bhatia and the Mittal Family Trusts, K5 Sports (a K5 Global Fund), with Jeff Bezos as the lead investor in the K5 Sports fund, and EE Capital, the family office of Elaine and Eduardo Saverin, in the purchase of a strategic minority equity stake in Premier League club Liverpool F.C. from Fenway Sports Group, a global sports, media, entertainment, and real estate company.
The Latham team across the UK and US was led jointly by London partners Ed Barnett and Hector Sants, Washington, D.C. partner Nick Luongo, and New York partner Matt Eisler, with London sports partner Patrick Mitchell, Washington, D.C. partner Brad Guest, and associates Ryan Martin and Dustin Davis. Support was provided by London partner Farah O’Brien, with associates Claire Wallace, Joshua Cohen, Nima Pourdad, and Andrew Klokiw. Advice was provided on tax matters by New York partner Alan Kimball, London tax partners Simon Skinner and Serena Lee, and Washington, D.C. partner Matthew Conway, with associates Thomas O’Malley and Jacob Meninga; on data, technology, and IP matters by London partner Christian McDermott, with associates Ben Leigh, Kate Burrell, and Dal Lim; on employment matters by London partner Kendall Burnett, with London counsel Shaun Thompson; on antitrust matters by Brussels partner David Little, with associates Ryan McGrath and Panya Baldia; on funds matters by London partner Clare Scott and Washington, D.C. partner Aaron Gilbride; and on real estate matters by London partner Quentin Gwyer.
The acquisition is the latest in a series of high-profile UK football investments on which the firm has advised in London, including the sale of a minority stake in Manchester United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe; Apollo’s investment in Wrexham AFC; the £4.25 billion acquisition of Chelsea FC led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital; the acquisition of a majority stake in Rangers Football Club; and This Day and MARV’s investment in Brentford Football Club.