Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Civil war erupts at Anfield

The battle lines have been drawn over the future of Liverpool after owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett stressed they would "resist any attempt to sell the club without due process or agreement".


A series of events raised hopes of a sale after the Reds confirmed, for the first time, two official bids had been made.


They were described as "excellent financial offers to buy the club that would repay all its long-term debt".


However, after a failed boardroom coup, the American owners claim the bids "dramatically undervalue" Liverpool and say they are determined to hold out for a "fair price that reflects the very significant investment we've made".


Things started to move on Tuesday with a board meeting being held to discuss the offers.


Shortly before that took place, Hicks and Gillett tried to wrest back control of the boardroom by attempting to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre and bring in Hicks' son Mack and Lori Kay McCutcheon, financial controller at Hicks Holdings, to give them back the power to stop any sale.


It failed as the England-based contingent, Purslow, Ayre and chairman Martin Broughton, still have the majority vote.


That was part of the condition of the sale process when it was announced Liverpool was being put on the market in April, with the intention of preventing Hicks and Gillett from blocking a bid because it did not meet up to their expectations in terms of a profit-making deal.


But the situation is now under legal review and that could hold up any deal.


And the Americans show no intention of backing down.


"In April, we confirmed our agreement to sell Liverpool Football Club, and stated our commitment to finding the right buyer for LFC, one that could support and sustain the club in the future. We remain committed to that goal," said their statement.


"The owners have invested more than 270 million US dollars in cash into the club, and during their tenure revenues have nearly doubled, investment in players has increased and the club is one of the most profitable in the EPL.


"As such, the board has been presented with offers that we believe dramatically undervalue the club.


"To be clear, there is no change in our commitment to finding a buyer for Liverpool Football Club at a fair price that reflects the very significant investment we've made.


"We will, however, resist any attempt to sell the club without due process or agreement by the owners."


It effectively means there is now open civil war between the American owners and the England-based members of the board, who are keen to pursue the new interest.


One of the bids received is reported to be from Boston Red Sox owner John Henry's New England Sports Ventures, while the suggestion is the other comes from Asia.


"The board of directors have received two excellent financial offers to buy the club that would repay all its long-term debt," said an unprecedented Liverpool statement.


"A board meeting was called to review these bids and approve a sale.


"Shortly prior to the meeting, the owners - Tom Hicks and George Gillett - sought to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board, seeking to replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.


"This matter is now subject to legal review and a further announcement will be made in due course.


"Meanwhile Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre continue to explore every possible route to achieving a sale of the Club at the earliest opportunity."


Central to the whole saga is next week's looming deadline for the repayment or refinancing of £282million of loans - owed principally to the Royal Bank of Scotland.


Hicks has been trying to hold on to power by attempting to raise capital to pay off or reduce the debt but has so far unsuccessful and with the prospect of RBS calling in their debt and possibly taking control at Anfield the price the club is actually worth has been falling by the week.


The Americans know if the bank steps in then they will receive nothing, hence the move to restructure the board to buy them more time.


View the original article here

No comments:

Post a Comment