KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Hicks bidding to take full control of the club

Its price, Hicks was willing to sell for an insane price only. He wants to hang for the new tv contracts and other stuff which he thinks will turn liverpool into a gold mine. Also i think the appointment of someone like Broughton was forced by RBS, I think, not sure on that.

His a f*cking parasite, a leech, a blight upon the earth and the human race and I wish he would just f*ck off and stop crippling our club.

If the other parasite yank does default doesn't that mean anyone can buy his shares not just Hicks?

they should both be gone by the end of october so not long now

Let me get this right, H&G are trying to undermine eachother, there are no new buyers, RBS look reluctant to step in and no one is saying jack sh*t to the fans!

Just precisely what the feck is going on!

Tom Hicks has talks to take sole control of Liverpool FC

TOM HICKS is trying to go it alone and take total control of Liverpool.

The Anfield co-owner is searching for last ditch refinancing deals as the October 6 deadline for his and George Gillett’s debts to be repaid looms.

Hicks will face fierce opposition from the majority of the Anfield board.

The Americans are now believed to owe approximately £280m under the terms of their arrangement.

Co-owner Hicks arrived in London on Wednesday and has discussed refinancing options with, among others, the investment bank FBR Capital Markets.

Liverpool would face further damaging interest repayments should Hicks succeed in preventing RBS from taking control and selling the club on for much less than the Americans’ original £800m valuation.

However, Hicks would require majority approval from the Liverpool board to secure a deal and, so far, the chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre have all opposed his attempts to remain at the helm.

It is understood Hicks met FBR Capital Markets and Broughton alone, with Gillett in danger of defaulting on a loan acquired to meet personal guarantees in a previous deal with RBS.

Gillett secured a $75m loan in 2008 with Mill Financial, who have now called the loan in, and is currently trying to extend that loan in order to protect his 50 per cent stake in Anfield.

Broughton has yet to find a buyer for the Anfield club five months after his appointment as chairman with that specific brief.

Hicks and Gillett put the club up for sale in April after Royal Bank of Scotland Plc agreed to give the owners an extension on 237 million pounds ($370 million) they owed. That debt matures on October 6 and could lead to the bank taking control of the club if it isn’t repaid.

Mark Semer, a spokesman for Hicks, declined to comment. Gillett’s assistant, Jennifer Stenseth Rogus, said he was unavailable.

The RBS has moved the debt to its restructuring team and is taking a role in finding a buyer for the team.

RBS said in a statement it retained confidence in the sales process being conducted by Barclays Capital and British Airways Plc chairman Martin Broughton

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool...252-27287661/2/

Texan billionaire Tom Hicks to target Liverpool buyout


Any attempt by Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks to gain sole control of the club will have no support from the majority of Liverpool's board but could succeed, BBC Sport understands.

Texan billionaire Hicks met Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton on Wednesday, informing him he was considering raising money to refinance the club's £237.4m debt with Royal Bank of Scotland before a deadline set for early October.

The talks were described by a senior club source as "blunt but constructive" but the prospect of Hicks remaining in control of the Premier League club will horrify many Liverpool fans desperate for a change of ownership.

Co-owner George Gillett is reported to be struggling to pay back a £75m loan secured against his 50% stake in the club in 2008 and Hicks is considering buying his partner out, although Gillett insists he is not on the brink of defaulting.

Hicks and Gillett bought the Reds in February 2007 in a deal that valued the club at £218.9m.

But the American duo have endured a difficult time at Anfield, with supporters regularly voicing their dissatisfaction at the level of debt taken on by the club after their buyout.

Broughton, who was appointed in April at the request of RBS as a condition for the bank extending its loan to the Americans for a further six months, has previously said he wants to find a new owner willing to wipe out the club's debt and build a new stadium.

Along with managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre, Broughton sits on the club's five-man board alongside Hicks and Gillett.

The three Englishmen will oppose Hicks' plan if he manages to raise the funds required.

The Americans failed to generate the necessary money in June because the proposed refinancing was with RBS and would lead to the club being saddled with more debt and interest repayments.

However, the board privately acknowledge that this time Hicks could succeed if he refinances with a different bank and are seeking legal advice on their power to block any attempt he may make.

"Technically, if he pays off RBS 100% the bank can't really refuse to receive the money so it can be removed from the scene," the source told BBC Sport.

"That would make the legal position of whether such a plan can be vetoed very complicated and difficult. It would have no support from three members of the board.

"The board's directors are obliged to do what's best for both the shareholders (Hicks and Gillett) and also the business (Kop Holdings) but these two objectives could be in conflict, so legal advice is being sought as to what's possible."

Hicks has not approached RBS yet to discuss his plan but the source admitted the prospect was "possible" and "could not be ruled out".

James McKenna, spokesman for Spirit of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters' Union, predicts an angry response from fans to any attempt by Hicks to keep hold of the club.

"This is the latest in an on-going soap opera but we don't want either Hicks or Gillett involved in the club and these plans will be met with the fiercest of protests," he said. "These reports are a worry."

Hicks and Gillett put the debt-ridden club up for sale in April, valuing it at £600m but no-one has come close to meeting that figure.

Hong Kong businessman Kenny Huang was interested but withdrew from negotiations to buy the club at the end of August.

Hicks and Gillett face losing the club to RBS, which must decide whether to call in the loan and take control of the club, agree to another extension, or force a sale to the highest bidder.

Can the other 3 members of the board stop this though ?

Apparently they stopped it last time ..

Unless hicks has been brown nosing Broughton into siding with him ..

Really wouldnt suprise me to be honest.

I think they can stop a refinance or extension if it done through RBS but because Hicks is trying to raise funds external RBS (ie pay them off) the picture is less clear. I think if Hicks tries to use the players, the stadium ect as collateral then yes the board can block him but if he is not then I am uncertain, Im not sure how they could.

My question is though if Hicks does decide to buy the club out would it not have to be approved by PL under the new rules? Surely they would tell him to do one as it will mostly likely be an extremely high interest loan that would put the safety of LFC at even more risk!

well yea ..

under these new rules the owner has to prove they have the finances and the clout to keep the club afloat.

he doesnt have either and probably couldnt afford a weeks worth of salaries.

Who the hell is leaking this information does not care about LFC at all. We have a major game coming up on Sunday and then this gets leaked to the press. This cannot be good for the morale of the team and could probably cause alot of unease in the dressing room.

Unfortunatley the guy is a billionaire so could actually afford to buy LFC many times over but he not using his own money so I dont think that counts. Its the manner of the loan that the PL will have an issue with as it will probably be a short term very high interest one that will f uck us completely

i know both are bad but which one is worse hicks or gillete? i keep on getting them mixed up