Basketballer buys stake in Liverpool FC

LEBRON James, the US basketballer, has taken a minority stake in Liverpool Football Club following a deal signed with the club’s parent firm Fenway Sports Management (FSM).

Fenway has agreed a partnership with James’s company, LRMR Marketing & Branding, which will cover all of Fenway Sports Group’s companies including the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, New England Sports Racing and its 50% share of Roush Fenway Racing.

FSM said the deal would align its own business development efforts with LRMR’s marketing capabilities. It will also work with James and his representatives on all of the basketballer’s “future business, marketing, endorsement and philanthropic endeavours”
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FSM director Tom Werner said: “We believe this will be a powerful collaboration between FSM and LRMR and LeBron. There are very few athletes who can match his global reach, appeal and iconic status.

“We are very excited that LeBron will be part of the Liverpool FC family.

LeBron and Liverpool each has a powerful presence internationally, with particular strength in Asia, but we feel the business opportunities for both working and being identified together in emerging international markets will result in unforeseen opportunities that neither would have been able to realize alone.” 

James said that he was “thrilled” to be working with Fenway Sports Group’s owners, John Henry and Tom Werner.

“These guys, like me, have a passion for sports. You can see the drive and commitment they have for their teams. For me, this is about being in business with an organization that loves sports as much as I do.”