Barclays Capital Appointed to Find a Purchaser for the Club

[redheart]

Sky are now reporting that the Yanks have appointed Barclays Capital to find a purchaser for the club

[redheart]

Exclusive: Barclays To Hunt For Liverpool Buyer

 

The American businessmen who own Liverpool Football Club have hired heavyweight City advisers to oversee an auction of part or all of the Premiership outfit, I have learned.

 

Tom Hicks and George Gillett are on the verge of appointing Barclays Capital, the investment bank, to handle a sale process that will begin shortly by inviting new offers for the club.

 

It's the latest chapter of an ownership saga that has angered Liverpool fans in recent months as they've seen their team knocked out of the Champions' League and fall away surprisingly early in the Premiership title race.

 

The owners hope that recruiting Barcap will inject fresh impetus into their quest for new investment, although their preference is now for an outright sale rather than to find an investor prepared to buy a minority stake.

 

"This is almost certain to be an exit process," a person close to the situation told me tonight. Notwithstanding that, Hicks and Gillett have no intention of selling on the cheap and will rebuff offers for the club that they believe fail to reflect its value. Equally, they may decide to sell only a minority stake if that offers the best immediate value available to them.

 

As I understand it, Barcap will therefore advise the owners on all options open to them, not just an outright sale.

 

To provide reassurance for potential buyers that the auction is a genuine attempt to sell the club, Martin Broughton, the chairman of British Airways, will be confirmed as Liverpool's chairman in the early part of next week. His appointment, which is not quite certain yet but which is overwhelmingly likely, will mean Hicks and Gillett stepping down as co-chairmen.

 

Broughton's role at Liverpool will effectively be that of an interim chairman given that I understand he will play a key role in overseeing the sale of the club.

 

He would seem to be a well-suited candidate for such a role, given his deep personal interest in sport (he's a keen Chelsea fan and a former chairman of the British Horseracing Board) and his experience of handling challenging corporate situations.

 

The perception among potential investors that Hicks and Gillett are at loggerheads has played a significant role in frustrating the search for new money.

 

Rhone Capital, a US private equity firm, did table a proposal several weeks ago that would have seen it acquire a minority equity stake (that would have included management control) in Liverpool for about £100m. Hicks and Gillett were not keen on the idea, and the offer has now lapsed.

 

There's certainly other interest out there too, including from Middle Eastern and Indian investors, although there are no further firm proposals on the table yet. However, the prospect of full ownership is likely to whet the appetite of many buyers given the possibility of a move to a new stadium and the latent commercial potential of the club.

 

Liverpool needs an injection of capital to meet the demands of its main creditor, Royal Bank of Scotland, that it reduce its debt by about £100m.

 

Given that RBS is majority-owned by the British taxpayer, it's unlikely in the extreme that it would want to take control of the club.

 

That said, the bank is determined to see Liverpool refinanced in the short term.

 

This news about Liverpool increases the likelihood that English football's three most famous clubs will change hands, given a potential takeover bid for Arsenal from Stan Kroenke and the Red Knights' plans to bid for Manchester United.

 

Liverpool and its owners declined to comment this evening.

 

http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/P...2-33f7a7ca43e0

[kopite1989]

There's alot going on behind the scenes at the mo by the sounds of it. Can't be a bad thing in my opinion as it means yanks will be gone sooner rather than later!

[Trumo]

How soon before they ask wonga.com?

[kurt5561]

This is good news and it seems as if there is plenty of going on behind the scenes which is slowly coming out. Hopefully Cancer and Aids will have some sense and realise that no one at Liverpool wants them anymore and sell the club to someone who loves the club and take us forward.

[zigackly]

Took Hawkpoint nearly three years, and look what we ended up with. Hope Barclays Capital can do a better job.

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Cringeworthy.

[Steve Holt]

[Joe Le Taxi]

Nothing to see here. This is what the 3rd or 4th company we have approached to find the owners someone to invest a minority?

 

On a completely different subject, did SoS have anything planned for our next game?

[Liquid football]

what's the deal with Red Knights apparently bidding for Man U?

[Dougie Do'ins]

Maybe RBS are going to grow a set. However the part in red suggests this is more likely to be just another episode in the merry go round that has become our club.

 

"This is almost certain to be an exit process," a person close to the situation told me tonight. Notwithstanding that, Hicks and Gillett have no intention of selling on the cheap and will rebuff offers for the club that they believe fail to reflect its value. Equally, they may decide to sell only a minority stake if that offers the best immediate value available to them.

[RedKnight]

So more money going to more people who aren't playing or coaching football? Hmrph.

[dave u]

I hope Hicks and Gillett both die slow, agonising, horrible deaths, the pair of fucking parasitic cunts.

[Liam]

Yet more progress. Christ, you'd think we were the luckiest club in the world the amount of "breakthroughs" we have.

 

I just watched Northampton Saints who are my rugby union team. Refreshing to see how a team can be built without politics, debt and massive transfer fees. Football isn't what it was.

[oxtailsoup]

I hope Hicks and Gillett both die slow, agonising, horrible deaths, the pair of fucking parasitic cunts.

 

That's a bit harsh Dave. :whistle:

 

I'd love to see those two strapped to the old medievil stretching tables - and broadcast the whole thing on LFC TV. In fact they could sell tickets and hold the event at Anfield in the centre circle. :drool:

[Hooch]

Cunts.

Sell up and fuck off will you. Fucking hell.

[JohnnyH]

Why haven't they tried buy and sell?

[Trucker Paddy]

I hope Hicks and Gillett both die slow, agonising, horrible deaths, the pair of fucking parasitic cunts.

 

I want hicks to have to see that cokehead cunt of a son die of an overdose before he goes, oh yeah!

[zigackly]

Stick it on ebay and get it fucking done with.

[dennis tooth]

I think the prospect of no CL footy next year has petrified them into action tbh, they might have to put their hands in their pockets and they certainly don't want to fund us through some sort of revival in the only place we'll get one, the transfer market.

 

*The Red Devils will never get their hands on the mancs, they won't be able to raise an offer that will be enough to tempt and if they did someone else would likely donald trump them.

[Unrighteous]

I hope Hicks and Gillett both die slow, agonising, horrible deaths, the pair of fucking parasitic cunts.

 

I don't know if slow, agonising, horrible deaths are enough... They need something worse.

 

Being kept alive for hundreds of years whilst being tortured daily sounds about right.

[Chinandeler Bong]

Mess.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Nothing to see here.

 

There is a lot to see here. They are looking to sell the entire football club, which is a much easier task than selling an overpriced minority.

[zigackly]

They've been looking to sell it for some time if they get an unrealistic amount of money. What's changed?

[Hermes]

With all the money we have paid to consultants we could have paid for the new stadium.