Kenny Huang linked to Liverpool takeover

[RedinSweden]

Here is another:

 

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton moves to seal a deal to reassure senior players - Telegraph

 

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton moves to seal a deal to reassure senior players

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton is hoping to secure a new owner for the club by the end of this month in the hope that the promise of fresh investment will persuade senior players, including Fernando Torres, to remain at Anfield.

 

By Paul Kelso

Published: 6:30AM BST 03 Aug 2010

 

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett agreed to sell the club in April after coming under pressure from RBS, which is owed £237m, and Broughton, who is understood to have received several proposals from potential buyers, believe that the transfer window represents the most likely period for a sale.

The commitment to seal a deal by Aug 31 comes as the only publicly declared bidder, Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang, Monday night attempted to increase the pressure on Broughton and RBS by indicating he will walk away from his proposed deal for the club if it is not concluded in the next two weeks.

 

Roy Hodgson admits Liverpool's players are disenchanted as he prepares for Europa draw

Huang is attempting to take control at Anfield by dealing directly with RBS, offering to repay some or all of the £237m debt incurred by American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in the course of their 2007 takeover, and hoping that the bank will lean on Broughton and the club board.

Sources close to the club and the owners said last night that Huang was just one of a number of potential buyers to have submitted proposals to Broughton, and suggested he is attempting to secure supporter backing for his bid by going public.

Huang, a Wall Street stockbroker and chairman of the Hong Kong-based QSL Sports group, is the frontman for a sovereign wealth fund based in the Far East, but his advisers have not publicly revealed the source of the money.

He previously expressed an interest in buying the club in 2008 but was put off by a valuation of £650 million, and was among a number of potential buyers approached by Broughton and investment bank Barclays Capital when they took charge of the search for investment in April.

Telegraph Sport understands that Huang's camp approached Richard Holliday, the RBS executive responsible for the Liverpool account, directly last month in an attempt to bypass the Americans and take advantage of disquiet at the bank about the club's future.

When asked directly about Huang's approach, a spokesman for the bank denied that they had any discussions with him or "any bidder for Liverpool".

Only when pressed later in the day did the bank concede that it had received an approach. It said that it referred Huang to Broughton and Barclays Capital.

Huang's bid is understood to value the club at around £300 million, short of the £800 million valuation offered by Hicks earlier this year, and around half the price of offers Hicks and Gillett have previously turned down. While this valuation should be seen as part of a negotiation, he is clearly reluctant to offer the Americans any premium for their involvement with the club.

Sources close to Huang have said his consortium would also make funds available to manager Roy Hodgson in an attempt to convince Torres, Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina to remain at the club, and to continue work on the new ground promised by Hicks and Gillett.

RBS has gradually increased its demands on Hicks and Gillett during the three years of their ownership, demanding greater levels of personal guarantees and security as their American investments came under pressure following the credit crunch.

In April this year however RBS demanded that the Americans agree to an exit strategy and they also agreed to extend the lending agreement, due to expire in the summer, only to October.

In March this year RBS told the Premier League that it would guarantee the club's finances until the end of the 2010-11 season, but could not guarantee those of the current owners beyond this autumn.

Huang is now hoping to exploit that lack of certainty by persuading RBS and Broughton that, with club revenues under pressure following the failure to qualify for the Champions League, he is the only credible alternative to another season under the Americans' continued ownership.

[Whelan]

Has anyone noticed how quiet the yanks have been?

 

Normally you can't keep that fat bollock quiet long enough to call him a twat! And yet I haven't heard a peep out of any of them, other than a 'associate' close to the americans in the Daily Wail.

[sh#t waffle]

Check Jim out with his posting proper news stories from big papers.

[RedinSweden]

Check Jim out with his posting proper news stories from big papers.

 

I'm the thinking man's newsnow

[Hazel Motes]

Check Jim out with his posting proper news stories from big papers.

 

Next up from Jim: Interrigating stories from William Hazlitt in The Examiner, Joseph Mitchell in The New Yorker, R. A. Radford in Economica and Gay Talese in Esquire.

[KopOut]

amazing how the 'potential interested parties' crawl out of the woodwork when a firm offer is made. Sick of the yank's bullshit - sell already.

[Archimede]

My take on all this is...

 

We are in play

A deal is more likely to be done than not

 

With regard to the Chinese bid

I think Kenny's approach is

 

1) very agressive (i.e. by approaching the bank directly)

2) He is playing Hicks (Mr. LBO, leveraged buy out) at his own game

3) Offers a very nice solution for RBS bankers who are sitting on a pile of shite in their books (on the assumption he buys the debt... not clear if he is taking it over - if so is their an advantage to him taking over??)

 

 

I think we Joe Cole signing Cecil may have pointed this was happening to him. Wee Joe might have been right... we may by the biggest club in every sense of the word soon.

 

Im having a great summer guys

[Duncan Clench]

My take on all this is...

 

We are in play

A deal is more likely to be done than not

 

With regard to the Chinese bid

I think Kenny's approach is

 

1) very agressive (i.e. by approaching the bank directly)

2) He is playing Hicks (Mr. LBO, leveraged buy out) at his own game

3) Offers a very nice solution for RBS bankers who are sitting on a pile of shite in their books (on the assumption he buys the debt... not clear if he is taking it over - if so is their an advantage to him taking over??)

 

 

I think we Joe Cole signing Cecil may have pointed this was happening to him. Wee Joe might have been right... we may by the biggest club in every sense of the word soon.

 

Im having a great summer guys

 

Well someone's glass is half full this morning.

[Rafa_The_Gaffa]

Ffs, 22 pages later and I feel we're no further forward :(

[Scott_M]

Ffs, 3 and a half years and I feel we're no further forward :(

 

Fixed.

[RedinSweden]

BBC - David Bond: So who's buying Liverpool FC?

 

So who's buying Liverpool FC?

Post categories: Football

David Bond | 19:46 UK time, Monday, 2 August 2010

The latest foreign suitor to take an interest in saving one of English football's most revered institutions is Kenny Huang, a former Wall Street broker who carries the distinction of being the first Chinese graduate to work on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

He is the head of Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports, which, according to its website, was founded to build on China's success in staging the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is claimed QSL has the backing of one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the Far East while the website says the company's aim is "to expand China's sporting platform through enhancing professional athleticism among the youth and elevating the nation's direct involvement in the industry at an international level."

 

The latest part of that mission, it now seems, is to be achieved by paying £325m to buy Liverpool Football Club.

 

As they awoke to the news of Huang's interest on Monday morning, Liverpool's long-suffering supporters may have thought that maybe, just maybe, this is the one.

 

But would anyone who has followed the Liverpool ownership saga closely over the last three-and-a-bit years dare predict that this is going to reach a straightforward conclusion?

 

It is understood Huang's bid is one of several - perhaps five or six - which were submitted last week to Liverpool's chairman Martin Broughton and Barclays Capital, who were appointed on 16 April to handle the sale of the club.

 

Although it seemed the process was drifting over the summer, Broughton and Barclays Capital are aiming to make a final decision on a preferred bidder by the end of next week - just before the start of the new Premier League season.

 

All of which poses the question of why Huang has gone public with his interest now. His advisers have been briefing that he is the only show in town but, while he is acknowledged as a serious candidate, the idea he is the only one in the race is strongly contradicted by representatives acting for Liverpool and Barclays Capital.

 

As ever, this situation is made complicated by the fact that there are so many parties involved.

 

There's Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who haven't seen eye to eye for years except in their desire to secure as big a profit as possible from the sale of the club.

 

Then there's Broughton and Barclays Capital, whose primary interest is in achieving not only the best price but also the most sustainable new owner of the club.

 

Royal Bank of Scotland, who are owed somewhere around £250m and who have deferred their loan to Hicks and Gillett until October, are also anxious to have their money back and are driving the sale. However, they are also anxious not to do anything in the current climate that would make our state-owned banks even more unpopular.

 

Finally, there's the club itself, represented by managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre. Their interest is in finding a buyer who will not only end the destabilising years of American ownership but find a way to fund a new stadium at Stanley Park and invest in a team which is out of the Champions League and in danger of losing its best players.

 

The biggest stumbling block to a swift deal at the moment is Hicks and Gillett. They paid £218m for the club in 2007 and, according to parties familiar with the sale process, invested a further £144m either as security on financing further loans, design and legal fees for the new stadium or on players and their salaries.

 

To break even on a sale the club would need to fetch a price of £362m. But given that most of the money they have invested in Liverpool has been from borrowings, it is debatable how much of that investment has come from their own funds. If Hicks and Gillett walk away with any profit, it will cause outrage among the club's supporters and opponents of debt-financed football takeovers who argue they have seriously damaged Liverpool.

 

But this explains why they are holding out for a bigger price than the £325m on the table from Huang. It also explains why a Syrian businessman, Yahya Kirdi, emerged on the business pages of a Sunday newspaper yesterday as a possible buyer. He is said to be close to Gillett's son and, while he has been confirmed as one of the five or six who lodged an interest last week, must be seen as a stalking horse to help drive up the price.

 

Given the series of possible investors who have been linked with buying into Liverpool in recent times - Dubai International Capital, the Rhone Group and the Al-Kharafi family from Kuwait to name just three - it would be wise to treat the latest developments with a degree of caution.

 

But it does seem that this affair is finally reaching the end game.

[RedinSweden]

I am on a roll.

[Pony Princess]

He reminds me of the Chinese guy off The Dark Knight, the one who is good with money.

 

This one looks like it has legs, apparently his backers include many involved in Chinese football sponsorship (a huge amount of money involved) and some links to the Chinese state. Thats a spicy meatball-ah!

 

And if he runs off with all the club's money, well Batman doesn't have any jurisdiction - he'll go to Hong Kong and make him squeal. I know a squealer when I see one.

[johnmerrick]

Ffs, 22 pages later and I feel we're no further forward :(

 

I know how you feel. Give it time.

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

I think I need to cut me phone lines. And throw away my mobile. I'm checking this thread for updates every 3 minutes. It's beginning to affect my work quite dramatically.

[jimb]

I was born in 68, Old man took me to my first game when I was 4. Awaits apology for poor maths...

 

You must have had some good chats about the game.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

If he had that much money he'd buy LFC outright. Not fanny around with RBS.

 

I disagree with some people on here. I think Cancer and AIDS are being ganged up on big time. And the way they're bringing random close knit businessmen in to stall the offer until the transfer window closes proves this.

 

I'd do dirty, unforgivable things for them two to leave this club out of pocket.

 

Sorry mate, but that's utter wank.

 

When you buy a house, do you pay the asking price?

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Sorry mate, but that's utter wank.

 

When you buy a house, do you pay the asking price?

 

You certainly don't pay double the price because you can afford the payments.

[dirty_sanchez]

If he had that much money he'd buy LFC outright. Not fanny around with RBS.

 

I disagree with some people on here. I think Cancer and AIDS are being ganged up on big time. And the way they're bringing random close knit businessmen in to stall the offer until the transfer window closes proves this.

 

I'd do dirty, unforgivable things for them two to leave this club out of pocket.

 

Would you give a tramp a Dirty Bristow?

[Albertini]

So the club say there are 6 bids on the table.

 

We know of this Kenny dude.

 

A poster on YNWA who has a mate, I think, who works for the Indian fella Ambani , has said he has put a bid in.

 

The papers are running with the Kuwati family who tried to buy us previously also having lodged a bid.

 

Little George’s Syrian mate has put a bid in allegedly. So that’s 4 that we can name. Trying to think who the other two might be. Perhaps Sheik Mo?

 

If these bids are right i can’t see this Chinese fella getting it at £325 million particularly with the tactics he’s adopted and the shouting and carrying on he’s made over the last couple of days.

 

I think that he seems to think he is the only bidder and that he can play hardball as a result. His argument is that if there were other bids why did Georgey drop in his Syrian mate to try and delay things. That’s a good question.

 

If there are 5 other bids out there though he’s got no chance in my opinion. If he does get it next week then we’ll know there were no firm bids from anyone else.

[Red Mist]

You just know we're going to be lumbered with the worst buyer from the bunch that are interested in us. Broughton will not sell us to someone who would want to improve the club, he's going to go for the buyer who is least likely to make us a threat to Broughton's beloved Chelsea.

[Albertini]

You just know we're going to be lumbered with the worst buyer from the bunch that are interested in us. Broughton will not sell us to someone who would want to improve the club, he's going to go for the buyer who is least likely to make us a threat to Broughton's beloved Chelsea.

 

No course he wouldn't dear. Keep taking the pills you bell.

[redsfan]

So the club say there are 6 bids on the table.

 

We know of this Kenny dude.

 

A poster on YNWA who has a mate, I think, who works for the Indian fella Ambani , has said he has put a bid in.

 

The papers are running with the Kuwati family who tried to buy us previously also having lodged a bid.

 

Little George’s Syrian mate has put a bid in allegedly. So that’s 4 that we can name. Trying to think who the other two might be. Perhaps Sheik Mo?

 

If these bids are right i can’t see this Chinese fella getting it at £325 million particularly with the tactics he’s adopted and the shouting and carrying on he’s made over the last couple of days.

 

I think that he seems to think he is the only bidder and that he can play hardball as a result. His argument is that if there were other bids why did Georgey drop in his Syrian mate to try and delay things. That’s a good question.

 

If there are 5 other bids out there though he’s got no chance in my opinion. If he does get it next week then we’ll know there were no firm bids from anyone else.

 

If the Kuwaiti family and that Ambani fella are definitely in then Huang may struggle, the only thing that may help him is by going public and supposedly outlining his intentions about getting things started and completed as quickly as possible and looking like he has great intentions for the club, no matter how much he has offered they may go for it. But it all depends on who is backing him. Broughton talks about the right owner, one that is sustainable. If Huangs backing can match the money behind the likes of Ambani and the Kuwaiti family in terms of providing the club with genuine money for the stadium and transfers unlike the yanks which was all based on loans, loans and more loans, he has a real chance, and from whats being reported he has that financial backing behind him. The Syrian guy has no chance currently he is Gillett's panic button and I dont think Broughton will buy into it, the Liverpool Echo reports today it is not considered a serious bid.

 

I being the optimist I am, wouldnt be surprised if the board have 2-3 bids that are being wittled down to 1 now and some have already been jibbed off. I just have this feeling that the Board already have a good idea of who is the offer they wish to accept and will inform that bidder of their success, come next week when they 'decide' in public, the process is all well under way to allow the new owner to have the 2 weeks to say to Roy you can go for the transfer targets you wish to get, the targets that are underlined 'if the club is taken over, i can sign'

 

I know this is a very optimistic approach but its better than being downbeat about it all. I may be wrong but hey ho.

[Durango]

 

If these bids are right i can’t see this Chinese fella getting it at £325 million particularly with the tactics he’s adopted and the shouting and carrying on he’s made over the last couple of days.

 

He mightn't get it for £325m,but H&G won't get £600m either.

[birkenhead]

so who are theses five/six bids?

 

1, Mukesh Ambani (Indian tycoon)

2, Rhodes Group

3, Kenny Huang

4, Syrian - Yahya Kirdi (consortium)

5, Sheikh Khalifa

 

6,? DIC?