FSG Cadillac F1 talks put Liverpool future under fresh spotlight

Fenway Sports Group are talking to Cadillac about buying a majority stake in the Formula One team, according to Guardian, and the figure attached is significant, more than £2bn. That matters on its own because F1 is now a premium global asset. It matters even more because FSG already own Liverpool and have just reshaped the club’s ownership picture this summer.

The report states that Cadillac are jointly owned by Mark Walter, whose wider business dealings are under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. TWG’s position is clear, “there has been no fraud”. Walter, who also controls the Los Angeles Dodgers, has maintained that team will not be sold.

That does not mean a Cadillac sale is close. TWG has pushed back on that idea. Still, talks with FSG and other interested parties tell you this is live enough to be taken seriously. In elite sport, exploratory conversations happen all the time. The interesting part is who is asking the questions, and why.

Cadillac F1 appeal fits wider FSG strategy

There is logic here. FSG already have exposure to motor sport through RFK Racing, where they hold a 50% stake. Formula One has been a growth machine, especially in the United States, and the commercial numbers are obvious. Annual F1 revenue has risen beyond $4bn, around £3bn, since Liberty Media’s 2017 takeover, while media rights values keep climbing.

Cadillac’s on-track position is less glamorous. They are bottom of the constructors’ championship in their debut season and remain pointless. For an investor, though, that is not the headline issue. This is about franchise value, commercial upside and scarcity.

Photo: IMAGO

Liverpool ownership picture becomes more interesting

The Liverpool angle is where this becomes more than a motorsport story. The Guardian report says FSG are examining other sporting investments after selling 38% of Liverpool this summer to a consortium including Jeff Bezos and Eduardo Saverin. That group also holds the option to complete a full takeover at Anfield before August 2027.

So the obvious question is simple. Are FSG expanding because Liverpool remains central to their long-term plan, or because they see the club as an asset approaching the next ownership phase? Liverpool are valued at £5.5bn after that partial sale, a huge increase on the £300m FSG paid in 2010. Any move into Cadillac would inevitably feed debate about capital allocation, priorities and eventual exit strategy.

None of this proves Liverpool are being neglected. It does show FSG are thinking like investors first, which is hardly a revelation. Clubs at this level are emotional institutions for supporters and financial vehicles for owners. Both things can be true at once.

Photo IMAGO

Our View

This is the sort of report that immediately sets alarm bells ringing, even if there is no direct threat attached to it. More than £2bn on a Formula One project is not pocket change, and when that same ownership group has already sold 38% of Liverpool and given outside investors an option to complete a takeover, it naturally sharpens attention.

The part that stands out is not even Cadillac being bottom of the constructors’ standings. That can change. F1 is about long-term value and global reach, and FSG clearly see that. The issue is whether Liverpool remain the main event internally, or whether the club is becoming one premium asset in a broader portfolio that may eventually be moved on at the right price.

Supporters have seen enough over the years to know how this works. Owners talk about ambition, sustainability and growth. Investors talk about timing, value and opportunities. Those languages overlap, but they are not the same. Liverpool need clarity, especially after a summer that already changed the shareholding structure in a major way.

If FSG want to push into Cadillac F1, fine. Big groups diversify. But Liverpool cannot feel like the holding that funded the next deal. At a club this size, trust is built by commitment, not by clever portfolio management. If they are staying, act like it. If they are planning the next stage, people deserve to see the direction early rather than piece it together through reports like this.

Source: Guardian