KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Hicks' Plan B!!!

Owen Gibson has passed on the following report about the latest classy move by Hicks & Gillett. It's a long read, but it's worth it.

The owners of Liverpool Football Club today reported that a Texas State District Court has granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Board of Liverpool Football Club (LFC) from executing a sale of the Club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV). The court set a hearing date of October 25, 2010.

The TRO request, signed by Judge Jim Jordan of the 160th District Court in Dallas, was part of a lawsuit filed today by the owners of LFC against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow, Ian Ayre, NESV and Philip Nash. The lawsuit also seeks temporary and permanent injunctions, and damages totaling approximately $1.6 billion (over £1 billion).

The suit lays out the defendants' "epic swindle" in which they conspired to devise and execute a scheme to sell LFC to NESV at a price they know to be hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value (and well below Forbes magazine's recent independent $822 million valuation of the club) - and below multiple expressions of interest and offers to buy either the club in its entirety or make minority investments (including Meriton and Mill Financial). It describes how the defendants excluded the owners from meetings, discussions and communications regarding the potential sale to NESV and interfered with efforts by the owners to obtain financing for Liverpool FC.

The Club's owners are represented by attorneys from the international law firm of Fish & Richardson.

The following are some of the key points in the complaint, which details the roles of RBS and the other defendants, and also describes previously undisclosed offers to purchase LFC:

"The Director Defendants were acting merely as pawns of RBS, wholly abdicating the fiduciary responsibilities that they owed in the sale."

"RBS has been complicit in this scheme with the Director Defendants. For example, in letters from RBS to potential investors obtained just within the past few days, RBS has informed investors that it will approve of a deal only if there is "no economic return to equity" for Messrs. Hicks and Gillett. In furtherance of this grand conspiracy, on information and belief, RBS has improperly used its influence as the club's creditor and as a worldwide banking leader to prevent any transaction that would permit Messrs. Hicks and Gillett to recover any of their initial investment in the club, much less share in the substantial appreciation in the value of Liverpool FC that their investments have created."

"On or about October 4, 2010, Mr. Hicks received a letter of interest from a third potential purchaser represented by FBR Capital Markets ("FBR"), offering to purchase Liverpool FC for £375 to £400 million ($595 to $635 million). The letter informed Mr. Hicks that the potential purchaser would not need financing, possessed the funds to close the transaction, and intended to build a new stadium for Liverpool FC."

"Additionally, the Plaintiffs learned just days ago about another potential investor that made a similar offer in the £350 to £400 million range that was communicated to Defendant Broughton and another unnamed co-conspirator in late August. According to this investor, Mr. Broughton never responded to the offer. Moreover, when the purported sale to NESV was announced, this investor again contacted Mr. Broughton and informed him that the offer, which significantly exceeded the NESV offer, was still on the table. Again, Mr. Broughton brushed this offer aside without further discussion."

(Source: Guardian.Co.Uk)

I think the government should step in here. There bas fckin wankers. I hope I wake up tomorrow to read the papers and on the headlines it says, hicks, gillet, moores and parry where all found dead after a gay orgy went terribly wrong

I can't believe they'll have any success with what they're trying to achieve?! Where the hell did they pluck a figure of £1billion from?!

10.30pm: So to sum up the latest developments:

• A Texas court has issued an injunction against the sale of Liverpool football club to NESV.
• Hicks and Gillett have called the attempted sale an "epic swindle". =
• There are claims the attempted sale to NESV was well below the market value of Liverpool.
• Hicks and Gillett are claiming $1.6bn in damages.
• The pair have accused RBS of a "grand conspiracy".
• Hicks has claimed he received a letter of interest from a third potential purchaser represented by FBR Capital Markets on 4 October 2010 offering to purchase Liverpool FC for £375 to £400m.
• It is claimed another offer was also made in the £350m-400m range in August and that Martin Broughton never responded to this offer.

he's begging for it. just kill the son of a b*tch!

ha ha ha. a rare loss of composure there from the swede.

youre right though.

SKI MASKS EVERYONE...!!!!!!

1.6bn dollars - you can blow us all off [oops] face.

'You're a loser Barnes' in the immortal words of another Texan

I'm sorry this needs to be said. This is why alot of Americans are despised by the world, an it's no wonder why people go to the extremes of flag burning. Only I think it'd be more appropriate to stick the faces on it and then burn it

but if the singapore bloke is more flush than NESV, why are some blokes hell bent on selling to NESV?

What is clear based on what i know is that he yanks are not trying to hold onto the club, the yanks just want the offer that gives them some profit.

The singapore offer gives the yanks a bit more cash.

So who do we fans want? NESV or Mr Lim?

I aint sure meself what would be best, to my mind id go with teh owne that has the most cash.

haha it's time for the ski masks flames

10.33pm: Let's see what you have to say about this latest development.

"Texan courts don't even have jurisdiction over happenings in other states," says Jonathan Kaszynski. "This injunction is a vindictive act, hoping to cause the board and supporters of Liverpool Football Club as much trouble as possible. This has no chance in hell of seeing the light of day in court."

"I am currently warming down from a rather intense tennis match," says Phil Wainwright. "I declare the Liverpool sale valid. I take it the court I'm playing on has as much jurisdiction as the Texan one?"

"Can't the Premier League revoke H&G's status as 'fit and proper persons'?" asks K. Phillip Harrison. "I realise I risk being named in a Texan lawsuit for suggesting this (but I am ready to counter-sue in the district court of Matale, Sri Lanka where I have Friends)."

And lastly, here's David Penfold. "I looked at the photo and thought those Liverpool chaps have got one rubbish bodyguard."