BBC headline: DIC to bid for whole club

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

SICK & TIRED OF YANKS

 

THE BATTLE FOR ANFIELD U.S OWNERS WILL KOP FAN BACKLASH

 

No matter how loudly Kop protest, only sound they hear is dollar rustle

 

David Maddock 21/01/2008

 

There will be a passionate outpouring of emotion at Anfield tonight when Liverpool fans display their anger and contempt for their American owners.

 

But it will not even register 4,000 miles away in the United States as Tom Hicks and George Gillett go about their business of making money and electing US presidents.

 

A year ago, the pair were seen as the saviours of Anfield, the good-guy gunslingers who rode into town to provide the financial firepower to launch a realistic challenge to megarich Chelsea and Manchester United.

 

A year ago, senior officials at the club were briefing furiously against DIC - the investment arm of the Dubai government - suggesting that their rival bid was nowhere near as attractive as the American vision of the Anfield future.

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A year later, those same officials are now desperately backing DIC's attempt to buy out Hicks and Gillett, suggesting that only a takeover by the Arabs can save the great Merseyside club.

 

But don't expect the two billionaires to be moved by the passion of the fans or the disapproval of the men they bought Liverpool from.

 

Some time this week, Hicks and Gillett intend to announce their successful negotiation of a £350million refinancing package that puts their purchase of Liverpool on a more solid footing by reducing the level of interest rates they are currently paying on the loans they took out.

 

They also hope to unveil their plans for the £300m stadium they see as the key to a prosperous future for Liverpool... no matter who is in charge.

 

That in itself means little to the prospects of DIC purchasing Liverpool. But it does mean that the £300m the Arabs have so far offered to buy the club will not be enough.

 

As we exclusively reveal today, Hicks and Gillett have dismissed that offer - after two weeks of informal talks - as being almost laughable against their future valuation of the club.

 

And that is why the protests against them and the passionate support for manager Rafa Benitez from the fans will not make a blind bit of difference to their hard-headed stance.

 

The future of Liverpool comes down to money. Cold-blooded, cold-hearted money in a sport of warm-blooded, hot-headed passion. DIC's current offer is generous enough. It is effectively £80m more than they were about to buy the club for less than 12 months ago, and that after debts have increased at Anfield significantly. It would give the Americans a handsome profit of £20m-£30m EACH in less than a year - for doing little more than putting a deal together.

 

But the bottom line is this: they believe that when they build a stadium with the club's own money in less than five years, the profit can be 10 times that.

 

There are indications the Americans want to sell. Gary Richardson, the presenter of Sportsweek on BBC Radio, quotes one close relative of Hicks as saying in the Liverpool boardroom: "I can't wait to get rid of this club, I'm sick and tired of it."

 

There is also evidence of a rift between Gillett and Hicks, with both men said to be distrustful of the other.

 

As Joe McClean, of accountants Grant Thornton's football finance unit, said yesterday: "The Hicks - Gillett axis has been fractured for some time and if someone is offering them a significant capital gain then it might prove to be irresistible."

 

There is also clear evidence that DIC are determined to buy Liverpool and put in place a strategy to end the current political and financial wranglings.

 

But the key is just how much they are prepared to pay. Insiders in Dubai suggest that they believe £300m is above what they see as the 'true value' of the club. But the American duo's 'true value' once the stadium is built is closer to £1billion.

 

Meanwhile, the club lurches on, with manager Benitez attempting to keep his players' minds on the game He has a game against Villa tonight that he knows he must win if he is to keep at bay the pack chasing the fourth Champions League spot, yet it seems football is the last thing on anyone's mind at Anfield.

 

It is a mess, maybe even - as one insider in the Hicks camp said last week - "a disaster." But that same insider also said that the Americans are also determined to "do the right thing."

 

And for two billionaires who have made their money buying struggling companies and making vast profits out of them, the right thing is to hold out for the highest price possible.

 

Liverpool fans set for demo over Anfield owners - Mirror.co.uk

 

YANKS SNUB £300M REDS BID AS ROW DEEPENS

 

By David Maddock 21/01/2008

 

The American owners of Liverpool have turned down flat a £300million proposal from DIC to buy the club.

 

The Mirror can reveal informal talks between Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and the investment arm of the Dubai Government have been on-going for at least the last fortnight.

 

But we can also reveal that DIC, which is ultimately run by Sheikh Mohammed, the world's richest man, have been told their valuation is nowhere near the Americans' idea of what the Anfield club is worth.

 

Dubai Investment Capital were rejected out of hand by the Americans, who have told their potential suitors to go away and only come back with an offer when they are ready to bid in the region of £450m.

 

Speaking last night, a bullish Hicks insisted: "I and my family always have been and remain fully committed to co-owning the club. No one in my family has ever indicated any desire to sell our stake in the club, and we expect and intend to be co-owners of the club, and to actively and enthusiastically support the manager, players and fans for many years to come."

 

It leaves the ball firmly in DIC's court. They are keen to win control of Liverpool, after having their initial attempt to buy the business wrecked a year ago, in circumstances that they still feel were 'dishonourable'.

 

But even though the investment group is one of the world's richest companies, they are not prepared to offer above what they see as the "true value" of the club, which means negotiations could drag on for months.

 

Usa v DIC

 

Tom Hicks owns:

 

Ice Hockey team Dallas Stars, bought for £42m in 1995

 

Baseball team Texas Rangers, bought for £123m in 1998.

 

Hicks Holdings is the company that controls his sporting and real estate empire, worth over Û1billion (£511m).

 

Has interests in fossil fuel drilling tools, a data services company and an Argentine pet food company.

 

George Gillett owns:

 

Ice Hockey team Montreal Canadiens, bought for £95m in 2000.

 

Gillett Evernham Motorsports, bought from Roy Evernham in August 2007.

 

Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc, running a range of ski resorts across America. Northland Services Inc - a marine transportation company Great Northern Bank and Sierra Organics - a landscaping and gardening company.

 

Dic own:

 

Travelodge Hotels Ltd, bought for £675m in 2006.

 

The Tussauds Group, bought for £800m in March 2005. In May 2007 they merged The Tussauds Group with Blackstones Merlin Entertainments Group to create the second largest visitor attraction operator, after Disney, in the world. The Alliance Medical Group, bought for £600m in November 2007.

 

Mauser AG (industrial packaging specialist), bought for £635m in June 2007. Doncasters Group Ltd (manufacturer of precision engineered components and systems), bought for £700m in May 2006.

 

Owns 'significant' shares - estimated to be between 2 and 4 per cent - of HSBC, Sony, Daimler - Chrysler and ICICI Bank.

 

Liverpool's US owners snub DIC buy-out bid - Mirror.co.uk

[Eldrich]

God, I can see this getting worse before it gets better.

[Rex Banner]

I just can't get my head round what they must have said to Moores and Parry to convince them they were up to the job. Did Rick do any research at all into Tom Hicks?

 

They probably told Parry he would keep his job and he might not have with DIC that would of been enough for Parry to push for the Yanks

[Mr T]

We might have to destroy the club before we can oust these Yanks.

[Rashid]

DIC were rejected because they were £500 a share short of what Gillett offered. Simple as that. Moores felt he was "looking after shareholders"... what he did though was fuck up the club.

[Section_31]

The more I read about them the more I feel like building some petrol bombs.

 

"can't wait to get rid of this club"

 

You absolute FUCKING SCUM!!!

 

Moores and Parry really are the biggest pair of fucking idiots to ever walk the earth, I hope all four of them fucking die of aids.

[Guest PaddyBerger15]

I wonder if all the airfares for the 2 cunts and all their families are to be included in the offer? and all the phone calls, paying for people to look into how they can use RBS, Wachovia etc to avoid putting in their own money? Possibly even their grandkids school fees now and University fees in the future....in fact I wonder if each time Hicks takes his face and his arse for a shit if he wants the club and the fans to pay for the bog roll?

[WaltonRed]

Lets face it its going to drag on, we have to sit tight and keep up the pressure.

[Red '84]

I don't like the way they say it will be 'Anti-American'.

 

It's got fuck all to do with them being American. It's more like, 'Anti-cunts'.

 

agree, cant let any petty comments or banners about their nationality smear the good work were hopefully doing.

 

unfortunately i dont feel the protests will hold any sway, these are businessmen and they couldnt give a flying fook about what we think, even if we are "their customers"

 

but having anti yank sentiments in any protest is not gona do us any good.

[Evil_Ways]

Fell sick over this, can't fuckin sleep right without waking up thinking about that fat bastard Hicks.

[redrosetints]

Just seen this on RAWK - no idea how true it is, but let's hope:

 

0245 Mercury Press Agency, Email: Reporters@mercurypres

MERLIV

Mercury Press Agency, Email: Reporters@mercurypress.co.uk

 

Mercury Press Agency Ltd - 0151 709 6707 - No electronic use without agreement

Fax: 0151 708 1908, Email: REPLY TO: reporters@mercurypress.co.uk

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette have gone back on their word and sold the club to Arab company DIC.

 

The two Americans recently announced they would not sell their shares in the club, but a meeting with Dubai International Capital has already taken place and the deal is done.

 

The club has been sold for 375 million pounds, a deal that will give Hicks and Gillette $710 million - a $70 million profit.

 

The pair have never had a good relationship with the club from the start and a close family member to Hicks was heard in the board room saying they wanted out.

 

The outburst was after a home game last year when Hicks’ relative said: " They cannot wait to get rid of the club.

 

"They are sick and tired of it."

 

DIC were extremely close to buying Liverpool last February but Hicks and Gillett joined forces and outbid the Arab group.

 

The purchase was funded solely with borrowed money after the American’s asked the Royal Bank of Scotland for almost •300m to finance the deal.

 

The sale has been quick and the CEO of DIC Al Ansari, has already completed his due diligence.

 

The players and staff are fully aware of this as they were told prior to the Luton game.

 

Manager Rafa Benitez has kept his job but he has to bring in an assistant and sources have confirmed this to be Gary McAllister.

 

Liverpool’s Chief Executive Rick Parry will be forced to ’step down’ after offending DIC members last year.

 

The new owners will bring in David Dein as Parry’s replacement.

 

Unless players are sold there is no money available for transfer’s in the remainder of the January window.

 

But the summer will see massive player investment from DIC, believed to be in the region of 85 million plus whatever is made from player sales.

 

This could see a transfer budget of around 115 million.

 

BY KARL WALDERMAN

 

It would seem either made up or simply premature, but the one thing its mentioned, that Rash has and someone else has is the name David Dein. If and of course it s a massive, if, its true, it would be a major, major step forward. Dein has been the driving force behind Arsenal and was ousted due to his differences of opinion with majority shareholder Danny Fischman. In spite of getting their new stadium without selling out, Dein believed that int he long run they had to sell out. So a mark against Dein, but otherwise, he is the best. His relationship with Wenger and even Henry is well known and if DIC do come in and Dein too, that could possibly be the sinlge most important thing ofthe new owners. Rafa, Gerrard, Torres will leave eventually, whatever happens, but the way we are run off the pitch now and going forward will be the key to our sustained success. We should be profitable enough to be self sufficient and with Dein at the Helm Im sure we would.

[redrosetints]

I'd be stunned (although not too upset) if David Dein came in. He's a lifelong Arsenal fan and wants back in there.

 

As for those saying DIC won't overpay, they wouldn't be doing so even at the full £500m as long as they're in it for the long term. However, £350m seems like a bargain to me, regardless of what The Twats paid last year.

 

Dein won't get back into Arsenal while Fishmann (sp) is there, they just dont get along. Fishmann felt Dein got far too much of the credit for what Arsenal had achieved, alot of personal issues gong on.

 

As for DIC, well, by my reckoning, if they'd not walked away in a huff last year, they could have brought us out for less than 200m. Makes you think Parry was running the bid last time !:whistle:

[Dougie Do'ins]

DIC were rejected because they were £500 a share short of what Gillett offered. Simple as that. Moores felt he was "looking after shareholders"... what he did though was fuck up the club.

Moores was looking after himself and the twat.

[Red Nick]

Isnt Dein jewish?

 

almost word for word what I was told by a mate of a mate with the anouncement due Friday

 

Lets just pray and hope I dont think the American will sell for anything less than a 100m profit

[Mr T]

Moores was looking after himself and the twat.

 

Type in 'Trust us Rick Parry' into google and you get a whole of host of interesting quotes. I've stuck a couple in my sig for everyone's amusement.

[EmilHamilton]

I don't understand why people expect Gerrard and Torres to leave because Rafa will or if, and the big if David Dein comes in.

 

They've got contracts here, with Torres having 5 more years. It's going to cost a fuckload to any club who wants them, and I can't see them leaving that easy.

[Rafa Shankly]

I don't understand why people expect Gerrard and Torres to leave because Rafa will or if, and the big if David Dein comes in.

 

They've got contracts here, with Torres having 5 more years. It's going to cost a fuckload to any club who wants them, and I can't see them leaving that easy.

yeah the idea that torres and the rest of the spanish contingent will follow rafa out the door should the worse happen is ludicris.

[hamstrung]

Isnt Dein jewish?

 

almost word for word what I was told by a mate of a mate with the anouncement due Friday

 

Lets just pray and hope I dont think the American will sell for anything less than a 100m profit

 

What your "mate of a mate" is telling you, and that mercury press thing, is based on a very spurious email that's doing the rounds.

[stringvest]

Those that believe that email will no doubt be sending their bank details and a cheque off to Nigeria in order that some rich chief can hide a couple of billion in their account for a while.

 

Bunkum, that's all it is.

[Dougie Do'ins]

Those that believe that email will no doubt be sending their bank details and a cheque off to Nigeria in order that some rich chief can hide a couple of billion in their account for a while.

 

Bunkum, that's all it is.

Fuck me is parry the twat into that scam aswell now.

[TheDrowningMan]

I don't understand why people expect Gerrard and Torres to leave because Rafa will or if, and the big if David Dein comes in.

 

They've got contracts here, with Torres having 5 more years. It's going to cost a fuckload to any club who wants them, and I can't see them leaving that easy.

 

If Rafa leaves essentially because the Cowboys do not want an ambitious manager asking to be backed, then it means that the club is not trying to compete at the highest level, so in that case I think it perfectly possible that they might leave. And, to be honest, why shouldn't they?

 

If you had the choice between a mid-table club skimping and saving to line the owners' pockets, one at which the manager is a mere figurehead appointed to protect their fiscal interests (much like Hicks has in place at his Texas teams, and clearly wants here) and magnificent, superbly run behemoths like Manchester United & Arsenal, you'd choose the latter if you're an ambitious footballer.

[Michael Howard]

A good mate told me that he saw Ansari looking in the estate agents windows in Hoylake on Saturday and David Dein will definitely sign on the dotted line . . . . . next Tuesday.

[WeAreTheBest]

Liverpool FC set for £350m debt as Americans bank on staying - Liverpool Daily Post.co.uk

 

TOM Hicks and George Gillett were today homing in on a financial restructuring deal which will plunge Liverpool FC into £350m of debt.

 

Despite takeover interest from Dubai International Capital Reds co-owner Hicks has promised to plough ahead with the restructuring deal, sparking widespread anger among Liverpool fans.

 

It could leave the club facing annual interest payments of £30m.

GIVEN recent events at Anfield, it surely can’t be long before a banner is hung on the Gwladys Street bearing the legend: “Agents Hicks and Gillett, Mission Accomplished”.

 

From being the club which was so well run it was compared to a machine, Liverpool today finds itself in the unlikely role of national laughing stock – and with good reason.

 

In the latest twist to the ongoing farce, Tom Hicks has insisted that the keys to Anfield which he was given by outgoing Reds chairman David Moores last year will not be handed over to Dubai International Capital.

 

“I’ve not received any offer to purchase the club from DIC or anyone else, much less accepted any such offer,” he said.

 

“Nor do I have any intention of doing so,”

 

DIC clearly think differently and are hovering with an offer of around £350m.

 

Despite his protestations, there are those who know him well who believe Hicks is merely playing hard ball with the investment arm of the Dubai government to try and force them into paying over the odds for Liverpool.

 

The only problem is, DIC simply do not operate like that.

 

If Liverpool FC exists to win trophies, then DIC exists to make profits and you don’t get rich by being held to ransom.

 

Stalemate is therefore a distinct possibility – that is unless George Gillett refuses to sign up to a financial restructuring deal which will overnight turn Liverpool into a club with one of the biggest debts in world football.

 

If he refuses to sign up this week then DIC’s bargaining position is strengthened as it is now less than six weeks before Hicks and Gillett have to pay back their initial loan.

 

When they bought the club in February last year, Hicks and Gillett borrowed £220m from the Royal Bank of Scotland to make it happen.

 

That personal debt currently stands at £270 and the American duo are now looking at shifting the debt onto the club with a financial restructuring deal worth £350m from RBS set to be done this week – unless DIC’s interest is made concrete and an offer from them is accepted.

 

DIC officials were today meeting senior executives from RBS in London, talks which are likely to be the precursor to a formal bid of around £350m for Liverpool.

 

Should refinancing go through as planned then it is still unlikely that DIC will walk away – but any future offer for the club would be lowered to take into account the extra debt and banking fees they would have to take on.

 

Hicks remains adamant – in public, at least – he will not sell at any price and his stance has only served to inflame tensions between himself and the Liverpool supporters. Not since the days when “Deadly” Doug Ellis was seen as the scourge of Aston Villa has a Premiership club owner been as reviled by the fans as Hicks is today.

 

Almost a year on from having the red carpet rolled out for him at Anfield, the Texan will tonight to see the Kop attempt to pull the rug from beneath him in an unprecedented demonstration against the Liverpool hierarchy.

 

By picking a fight with Rafa Benitez – the most popular Liverpool manager since Kenny Dalglish – Hicks has totally alienated the Reds support which will use tonight’s league game against Aston Villa as the vehicle for their discontent.

 

How ironic that just six months ago Hicks was talking of his visions of the Kop at the long planned, but still not delivered, new Anfield as the orchestra to whose tune the team would play.

 

Tonight, the Kop will be playing a tune. But far from being sweet, the music will be angry and it will be directed at him and his co-owner, who has remained strangely silent given the firestorm which is raging around him.

 

“The fans want them out, unconditionally,” said Kevin Sampson, of Reclaim The Kop. “It's as simple as that. “They’re no good for us; no good for the club.

 

“As the world is seeing it right now, Liverpool is the most welcoming city and its people are the most generous hosts you're going to find anywhere.

 

“But cross us, and that's that. We're enemies, for life. Ask Mackenzie. Ask Thatcher. Ask Boris The Buffoon.

 

“These two tried to capitalise on our good will and our unswerving love for this club. But they underestimated us badly, and badly underestimated our love for Rafa.

 

“The moment they confirmed our worst misgivings and admitted they'd been plotting to oust Benitez, they may as well have started saddling the horses.

 

“That's it. They are finished here. The fans despise them as passionately as we hate any football rival – in fact, at the moment, it's worse.

 

“Not that they've shown much nous, but if they have a shred of common sense they'll take the DIC money and gallop out of town.”

 

In the previous 113 years of its existence, Liverpool FC had never been subject to a single demonstration by its fans.

 

In the last eight months alone there have been three – all of which have occurred while Hicks and Gillett have acted as self-styled club “custodians”.

 

The first, a display of outrage over farcical ticketing arrangements for the Champions League final in Athens, was anything but their fault and no-one was suggesting it was, either, at the time or since.

 

But the following two demonstrations – the “Save Rafa” march prior to the Porto match in November and tonight’s – undoubtedly have their roots in public disquiet about the way one of sport’s finest institutions is being run.

 

In an article in yesterday’s Irish Independent, Leeds United legend Johnny Giles lamented the recent demise of a club he respects unequivocally and spoke of his fear that Liverpool could end up heading down the same road to ruin as his former club.

 

He said: “It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a club can go from rude health to perpetual crisis, but at no time before now did I ever imagine I would be talking about Liverpool in such terms.

 

“For so long, Anfield was an antidote to the crass stupidity we witness at many clubs on a daily basis – certainty in an environment that often leans towards chaos.

 

“But it doesn't take much to lose the work built up over decades. Success at a club is such a fleeting and fragile thing if you don't continue relentlessly to do the basics right from the chairman down to the tea lady.

 

“This is a sad time for Liverpool and for all of us who looked to Anfield as one of the last remaining outposts of common sense and decency.”

 

Sympathy is the one thing that Liverpool has never sought before. But today, that is exactly what it is getting.

 

But if something is not done fast then such sympathy will soon turn to ridicule.

 

The Kop will speak tonight and it will speak as one. It can only hope that Hicks and Gillett – and DIC for that matter – are listening.

[Christian]

Scary times :(

[WeAreTheBest]

Though thats on the post's site its from Barrett and is in the Echo.

 

How can we keep up with interest payments like that? We're not Man Utd with a 75k seater. I know the plan is to get around that and generate cash but in the meantime? We wont have any transfer money and will have crippling interest repayments.

 

Tonnight might well be our last chance to do something, by the look of it we've got to get in Gilletts head as Hicks doesnt give a fuck.