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Liverpool board divided over whether to accept stunning Chinese government takeover bid
Hicks and Gillett want higher sale price than ￡325 million...
5 Aug 2010 09:30:00
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief correspondent
The Liverpool boardroom is deeply divided over whether the club should accept a stunning takeover bid from the Chinese government.
Goal.com UK understands that American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks are desperate to obstruct a swift deal in order to hold out for as big a profit as possible from the sale of the club.
This has angered the other three board members - chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre – who want to find the most sustainable owner for the club and believe that the bid fronted by sports entrepreneur Kenny Huang is the only serious contender.
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It comes amid reports that China’s foreign investment arm China Investment Corporation (CIC) is the mystery backer behind Huang and could hand Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson a formidable ￡150 million transfer kitty to spend on new players.
Liverpool, who have debts of ￡237m, are expected to change hands later this month and the Chinese appear to be in pole position to win a takeover battle that also includes the American private equity consortium the Rhone Group and Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi.
It is believed that Kirdi has a close working relationship with Gillett’s son, which has prompted speculation that the Syrian’s involvement is being used as a stalling tactic by the Anfield co-owner.
Yet the broker for Kirdi said today that the Syrian and his investment group are negotiating directly with the Americans – not with Broughton or Barclays Capital - and want to agree on a deal that would allow the pair to “walk away with a profit” before Liverpool open their Premier League campaign on August 15.
“We are prepared to take as long as it takes to get the deal done properly but all the participants would be pleased if we could have it in place for Liverpool’s home Premier League opener against Arsenal,” said Dan Diamond, president of Montreal-based GameDay Leadership Management Consultants.
It is Gillett and Hicks’ decision to negotiate above the heads of their fellow directors that has angered Broughton, Purslow and Ayre, who share three of the five boardroom votes.
Broughton and Barclays Capital – the investment arm of Barclays Bank – were appointed on April 16 to handle the sale of the club and are aiming to make a final decision on a preferred bidder by the end of next week.
It is not known who Broughton feels is the strongest bid but it is understood that the non-executive chairman would want a consensus in the boardroom.
A source close to the process says that Purslow and Ayre favour the Huang-led Chinese consortium, which has assets of ￡209 billion under management. Most of the cash is tied up in equity and bond markets, although China Daily, the English language arm of the Chinese state media, reported yesterday that CIC has spent the past fortnight selling shares that would, coincidentally, raise precisely the amount of cash required to finance a bid for Liverpool.
Huang values Liverpool at around ￡325m, less than half Hicks’ ￡800m asking price. To break even on a sale, the American owners would need to fetch a price of ￡362m. They paid ￡218m for the club in 2007 and invested a further ￡144m. |
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发表于 2010-8-5 20:23:51
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发表于 2010-8-5 20:25:01
