Anfield Rd.com

[Marko121]

Dont know whether this has any credibility but here goes

 

Anfield Road » You cannot be Syrias?

 

You cannot be Syrias?

 

George Gillett claims firm interest from a potential buyer – but all, as ever, is not as it seems.

As the clock ticks ever closer to the end of another deflating transfer window for Liverpool Football Club, Anfield Road has learned that George Gillett has informed Royal Bank of Scotland and chairman Martin Broughton that he has found a serious investor who is interested in buying the club.

 

Time to rejoice?

 

Maybe not.

 

Anfield Road understands that George Gillett and LFC’s mystery saviour is ex-Syrian international footballer and millionaire businessman Yahya Kirdi.

 

First linked with the club shortly after Martin Broughton’s appointment back in April it was intimated that the Syrian, who was using ex-Celtic player Andy Lynch as a spokesperson for the bid, had the support of “mystery billionaire backers from the Middle East”, a line which should send a shiver down the spine of anyone who’s kept an eye on either Portsmouth or Notts County under the stewardship of Sulaiman Al Fahim and Qadbak/Munto Finance respectively over the last 18 months.

 

Notwithstanding the Notts County and Portsmouth situation, it is understood that even the most rudimentary checks carried out on Mr Kirdi at the time of the initial interest showed his interest and capacity to put together a deal to be fanciful at best.

Needless to say, nothing ever came of the supposed interest, but it begs the question: if Yahya Kirdi has neither the inclination nor, more importantly, the means to complete a deal for LFC, why bother putting his name in the firing line in the first place, and to what benefit is it to Gillett for him to do so?

 

That is the question that we at Anfield Road have been trying to find an answer to for the last few days.

 

Exactly what Mr Kirdi has to gain from any involvement is still unclear, it may very well be nothing more than a favour to long-time friend Foster Gillett to help his father out of what is an increasingly tight spot. He does not appear to have anything like the desire for publicity as Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdullah, Mr Gillett’s previous stalking horse, whose appetite for a photo-op was only matched by the vulgarity of his sunglasses.

 

And to what end does it benefit Gillett?

 

It is believed that Gillett was panicked into submitting this new bid for the club under pressure from RBS, and by doing such, delayed any potential forced sale to any other potential buyer as RBS are legally required to listen, as current incumbents, to any such bid brought by either George Gillett or Tom Hicks.

 

The reasons for Gillett stalling the deal are fairly simple; it is clear that the interest anticipated by both himself and Tom Hicks hasn’t materialised and they are facing the reality of walking away with nowhere near the figure they had in mind when they appointed Martin Broughton to oversee the sale process.

 

By forcing an extension it gives Gillett time to, yet again, board a flight to the Middle East, replete with his begging bowl, in an attempt to force an auction for the club with scant regard, as ever, for the club or its supporters which in reality only serves to deter interested observers as they are understandably reluctant to be ripped off by this particular snake-oil seller.

 

It is worth bearing in mind that whilst it is Martin Broughton’s duty to sell the club to the best possible candidate (not necessarily the highest bidder), Gillett is only interested in getting the highest possible price for his stake in the club.

 

There is more than a hint of irony in all of this as it was only last month Gillett was letting it be known to certain members of the press that he was desperate to sell, but it was the greed of Tom Hicks that was holding up a sale.

 

Not that we should be surprised by this; Gillett has always been the “cute” one of the arrangement, Tom Hick’s inability to keep his foot out of his mouth and his name out of the papers allowed Gillett to keep a relatively low profile, two incidents apart when he was caught lying on record by both SOS and a fan who had the nous to record a conversation in which it was a struggle to pick out a single truth.

 

That aside, and ultimately more importantly at the minute, is that what isn’t clear is just how much extra time RBS are legally obliged to grant this proven liar to play his silly games and how much time they are affording him out of courtesy or misguided loyalty. By affording Gillett such grace, RBS are playing a dangerous game with the future of one of the most important football clubs in the world.

 

Anfield Road is aware that an absolutely serious party is ready and willing to move in right now. Further delay will be disastrous for the club and unless the bankers at RBS finally come to terms with the reality of the situation they risk facing a disaster of their own with the money they have tied up in the club.

 

It may take further pressure from supporters, SOS and ultimately Martin Broughton to force RBS to bring an end to this sorry charade, kicking Gillett and Hicks out and allowing suitable, capable and committed ownership in.

[RedinSweden]

Very reliable normally in my experience. I wonder who the serious bidders are.

[dave u]

Those two keep fucking up any potential sale by bringing chumps to the table and saying to Broughton "what about this guy, he'll pay more than your guy". Only thing is, their guy usually isn't a serious option, like this one. Staling tactics, as usual. Jim's spot on, RBS need to let Broughton deal with it.

[Kopite Pete]

From the Sunday Times, doesn't sound good imo:

 

Sunday Times reporting Kirdi as Gillett's mystery LFC bidder.

 

Mystery Syrian bidder stalks £400m Liverpool FC

 

A former Syrian footballer is understood to be the preferred bidder for the debt-plagued club, but there are doubts about his finances

 

Ben Marlow

 

Published: 1 August 2010

 

George Gillett, the co-owner of Liverpool Football Club, has lined up a mysterious Syrian businessman to become an investor in the club.

 

Gillett is in talks with Yahya Kirdi, a former Syrian international footballer who claims to be fronting a consortium of Arab investors.

 

He is understood to be Gillett’s preferred bidder among a host of potential investors that have expressed interest in recent months. The American has introduced Kirdi to senior Liverpool officials and the club’s bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, which is owed £300m by the club.

 

Bankers say the club is likely to attract bids north of £400m. It is unclear whether Kirdi is planning just to take a stake or mount a full takeover.

 

Gillett and fellow American co-owner Tom Hicks were forced to put the club up for sale after mounting debts and a poor performance on the pitch last season. The team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League is estimated to have cost it £40m.

 

The accounts for Liverpool’s parent company, Kop Football Holdings, reveal record losses of £55m last year, total debts of £473m, and interest payments of £40m.

 

In April, Barclays Capital was mandated to scour the globe for investors after several previous attempts to find new backers failed. Martin Broughton, the British Airways chairman, was brought in as chairman to oversee the process.

 

However, there are doubts about Kirdi and whether he has the finances in place to invest in the club.

 

It is the second time the Syrian has held talks about a takeover. In April, tabloid newspapers reported that he was in advanced discussions with Gillett and Hicks.

 

It was claimed Kirdi was a millionaire with substantial backing from the United Arab Emirates royal family. It was also reported that he knew Gillett and his son Foster personally. The talks between the two sides were being brokered by Andy Lynch, a Celtic footballer in the late 1970s. However, the discussions broke down within days and Lynch claimed that Gillett had reneged on an agreed deal.

 

Since then Barclays has received interest from a range of potential investors. The Rhone Group is thought to be considering resurrecting its bid.

 

The New-York-based investment group came close to buying a 40% stake in Liverpool before Kirdi first held talks.

 

Meanwhile, Eggert Magnusson, the Icelandic biscuit baron who was part of the consortium that owned West Ham, is among a number of parties to have expressed interest in investing in Sheffield Wednesday.

[RedinSweden]

I thought that was the whole idea if having Broughton in. Nice to hear that there is an interested party, but scary to think that they could still fuck up any chances we have for decent owners. Hard to worry about whether Torres will stay and such things when this is hanging over us.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

It all depends on who is in the consortium and what they want to do.

[Dicko]

I thought Broughton was all powerful.

And it was out of the owners hands.

[Section_31]

Broughton and the bank won't be arsed about the quality of the owners or their ability to look after the club in the long term, they just want their money back and the yanks want a tidy profit. The odds of us finding a quality owner are slim IMO.

[RedinSweden]

It all depends on who is in the consortium and what they want to do.

 

That's a given, but it is hard to imagine a worse set than our current ones. The old out of the frying pan into the fire saying barely applies when he frying pan is on fire.

[StevieH]

"......Since then Barclays has received interest from a range of potential investors. The Rhone Group is thought to be considering resurrecting its bid."

 

Resurrecting their bid for 40% of the club or 100%? Broughton has confirmed that it will be a full sale, so presumably it is the latter.

 

What do we know about the Rhone Group? I presume that Christian Purslow has had dealings with them due to his private equity background.

[Pidge]

Those two keep fucking up any potential sale by bringing chumps to the table and saying to Broughton "what about this guy, he'll pay more than your guy". Only thing is, their guy usually isn't a serious option, like this one. Staling tactics, as usual. Jim's spot on, RBS need to let Broughton deal with it.

 

Exactly, because every day under their debt is another chunk of interest that no low bid can take away from them. Like an un-negotiable minimum return for the two cunts. Which is why we haven't been forced to sel Torres or Stevie. It doesn't serve the owners to see their debt reduced right now.

[Red Phoenix]

Icelandic biscuit baron? Surely they're taking the piss with that.

 

If Gillett is really at that point and he keeps causing problems then Broughton is sure to get seriously pissed off and maybe have a word with RBS to get something sorted. It's scary to think what'll happen if Hicks or Gillett actually find a serous bidder themselves though because it's unlikely they'll give a fuck about the club.

 

Am going to hope they push Broughton too far, and quickly.

[Dicko]

Icelandic biscuit baron? Surely they're taking the piss with that.

 

If Gillett is really at that point and he keeps causing problems then Broughton is sure to get seriously pissed off and maybe have a word with RBS to get something sorted. It's scary to think what'll happen if Hicks or Gillett actually find a serous bidder themselves though because it's unlikely they'll give a fuck about the club.

 

Am going to hope they push Broughton too far, and quickly.

 

The Icelandic biscuit baron was looking at Sheff Wed not us.

[Red Phoenix]

The Icelandic biscuit baron was looking at Sheff Wed not us.

 

Yeah, just thought it was a funny title.

[coop]

I would treat the Kirdi link as just trying to stall RBS and try and bring out more serious investors.

[Kopite Pete]

You have to laugh at the Times, they cover every base, one minute no one wants us, the next there are several interested parties.

[Soup]

Why is this Syrian bloke talking to Gillette? Broughton said the sale is being handled by Barcap? Sounds like more stalling to me I hope RBS grow some balls and pull the loans.

[derykw]

And some fans think those two cunts are serious about selling up.

 

They`re here to bleed us dry until there`s nothing left or until they can blag enough funds from somewhere to get the stadium going and then bleed us some more.

[paddyberger15]

Do you think that kidnapping Gillett and cutting off one of his fingers/toes/limbs for every day that he is still fucking around might solve the problem?

That to me has always been the answer, the only thing these two will respond to is physical pain. Kidnap them and torture them and then see if they still want to hang on to any memory or interest in Liverpool. The pair of cunts.

[Marko121]

And some fans think those two cunts are serious about selling up.

 

They`re here to bleed us dry until there`s nothing left or until they can blag enough funds from somewhere to get the stadium going and then bleed us some more.

And some fans think those two cunts are serious about selling up.

 

They`re here to bleed us dry until there`s nothing left or until they can blag enough funds from somewhere to get the stadium going and then bleed us some more.

 

This has always been my fear

[Trucker Paddy]

Good article that

[Liam]

I have no confidence who we get next will be better than these American cunts. I can see it being another short term investment with a view to selling on once they have steadied the ship. Maybe then we can get proper owners in.

[Trucker Paddy]

I have no confidence who we get next will be better than these American cunts. I can see it being another short term investment with a view to selling on once they have steadied the ship. Maybe then we can get proper owners in.

 

the thing is, the last 3 years have shown the leverage boyout does'nt work if you wana make a profit, football does'nt make a profit in the short term, why the hell an investment company thinks it make money from us baffles me.