Slimmy

Posted on rawk via tia Speaking with a friend this lunchtime & it seems there were 4 members of the Al-Kharafi group at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. Abdulla Al-Sager, Rafed Al-Kharafi & two others (?) are in London as we speak & are said to be meeting with George Gillett. They are also meeting with Keith Harris who is acting on behalf of Tom Hicks. What’s very interesting is Harris is being accompanied by senior members from law company Rosenblatt – who are based at Andrew Street in London. Also in attendance are members from Merrill. It’s no wonder Keith Harris is working so hard on bringing the Al-Kharafi’s in to Liverpool. I have been told that if Harris is successful in bringing them in to Liverpool he stands to make £9 MILLION from the deal. Sounds plausible bar the fact that why would Hicks let Harris represent him, doesnt that present him a situation where there is a clear conflict of interest?

Revenge for what GG pulled on the sheikh earlier in the year?

These other suitors UEM, anything to get excited about? The Kuwaites, i know Tony Evans in The Game podcast has stated quite a few times that he's not convinced of the varacity of thier interest, are they in for us in real terms or just a type of bait used by the yanks to smoke out interested parties?

Alex Hleb would be a realistic target, available, affordable and would do a brilliant job for us cutting in from the left linking with Gerrard and Torres

UEM, is it the case that if GG wants to he can fuck it up for Hicks, he probably wont as per his caveat in the Bascombe peice but if he is that spiteful he can make sure he can get rid of Hicks, it would be a cut off your nose to spite your face scenario but its not all in Hicks' control, no?

Coop, in your opinion who will own Liverpool at the start of next season?

DUBAI INTEREST STILL IN RECKONING | Football Transfer News, Football News, Fixtures, Results, Match Reports, Stats DUBAI INTEREST STILL IN RECKONING By Paul Walker, PA Sport Speculation is growing in the Middle East that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, thought to have lost interest in the Anfield club last year as the credit crunch started to bite, may be preparing another move for the club. But if that does happen, it will only be during the summer as Liverpool's current American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett try to extend their £350million loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia - a prospect which, in the current financial climate, looks remote. Sheikh Maktoum is the ruler of Dubai and founder of Dubai International Capital, who were involved in lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful negotiations to buy the club last year. The Sheikh then took on the potential takeover on a personal level, but also opted to pull away several months ago. But with the intense rivalry between the Arab states over ownership of Premier League clubs, the Sheikh is again believed to be reviewing the situation. It emerged last week that a Kuwaiti group, the oil-rich Al-Kharafi family, were involved in talks - initially with Hicks - over a potential buyout, plus the £400m financing of the club's proposed new stadium. But the £600m asking price was considered too high and, following the amount of publicity the offer generated, it is now believed consortium leader Nasser Al-Kharafi has pulled out of negotiations. A source close to the Middle East groups said: "The price was too high and the Kuwaitis were annoyed that their interest was leaked. "Surely in the current climate, and with time running out on the Americans who must repay or re-finance their loan in July, nobody is going to buy Liverpool at this present time. "The price drops with every passing day, and any prospective buyer would now wait until the summer before making a move. By then, the Americans would have to accept a much lower price - around £400m or lower." That applies if the Americans fail to re-negotiate their current deal, although there have been suggestions they still have hopes of achieving that. RBS were prepared to give them a six-month extension on that loan this month. But that was an existing deal, and they are highly unlikely to take on a new agreement with the Americans. The source said: "With the Government now with majority control of RBS, it would seem unlikely that Liverpool would be allowed a huge new loan while other businesses around the country are not." It has already been suggested there is a new interest from Dubai, plus half a dozen other interested parties who will to talk to Hicks and Gillett. Talks involving Liverpool's finance director Phillip Nash and the commercial director Ian Ayre - along with high-level Hicks negotiators from Dallas - were held talks last week in London and the Middle East with the Kuwaitis. But the £600m price was a sticking point, as were attempts by Hicks to continue as a minority shareholder. That looks to have brought him back into conflict with Gillett, who wants both Americans to leave on the same terms. Reports of internal friction at Anfield have therefore surfaced again, with manager Rafael Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry seemingly supporting different factions. Last season it was Hicks who blocked the bid from DIC that was supported by Gillett - and now the co-owners appear to be at loggerheads again. They will both be at next Sunday's home game against Chelsea, Hicks arriving a few days earlier in the hope of breaking the impasse over Benitez's new contract. Sheikh Maktoum and his Dubai associates, meanwhile, are watching and waiting.

Hicks searching for Liverpool funding in Mideast LONDON (AP) -Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is in negotiations with potential partners across the Middle East to help finance a new stadium, but is not looking to sell his entire 50 percent stake in the Premier League club, The Associated Press has learned. Hicks has dispatched his key personnel from the United States to Kuwait and other countries in the region to find investors able to provide the capital that will help him meet his financial obligations to Liverpool - notably building a new stadium - and reduce the club's debt, people familiar with the negotiations told the AP on condition of anonymity because discussions are ongoing. An official announcement about new partners in Kop Football (Holdings), the company that Hicks and 50-50 partner George Gillett Jr. used as the vehicle to buy Liverpool in 2007, could be weeks away, a high-placed executive said. At one stage in October, the American owners came close to becoming one-third partners with an outside party, a person in the Gillett camp said. A trip by Liverpool finance director Philip Nash to Kuwait this week sparked reports of a looming takeover, but those talks were restricted to plans for the replacement of the aging Anfield stadium and potential naming rights, the executive said. Nash met with billionaire Nasser Al-Kharafi, who owns The Kharafi Group which is building the 60,000-seat Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait. Al-Kharafi could be part of a group of investors being assembled by Hicks as he looks to cement his future at Liverpool and build the club's own 60,000-capacity stadium. Anfield seats only 45,300. Loay al-Kharafi, the group's vice chairman, emphatically denied Friday that the negotiations were about buying part of the club, but didn't quash links to the Stanley Park development. "We are a private company. We're not obliged to declare our business,'' he said Saturday. Building the new stadium adjacent to the 125-year-old Anfield could require 400 million pounds, and escalating borrowings costs resulting from the global economic downturn prompted Hicks and Gillett to suspend the project in October. But with planning permission received for the Stanley Park site and considerable sums already spent on architects' plans, there is a renewed determination by Hicks to restart work as costs start falling. The search for new investors comes as a July deadline approaches to refinance the loan that funded the Americans' 218.9 million-pound takeover two years ago. That financing package of around 250 million pounds must be renewed by July after a six-month extension was granted by the Royal Bank of Scotland and US investment bank Wachovia. But RBS may not be in a position to extend further financing. On Monday, RBS announced the biggest loss in British corporate history of some 28 billion pounds ($38.5 billion) (?30.09 billion), weighed down by toxic assets that have prompted the government to take a nearly 70 percent stake in the bank. The debt burden and stadium delays have provided frustrated fans with further ammunition in their campaign to force the Americans to sell. The hostilities between Hicks and Gillett that raged in the first half of 2008 have eased, with the tycoons now working together on key future projects despite having differing opinions on the future of Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry and manager Rafa Benitez. Hicks, who is a strong supporter of Benitez, called Parry a "disaster'' in April and still wants him replaced. Gillett, however, has reservations about Benitez's importance to the team and acumen in the transfer market. There is no suggestion that either Hicks or Gillett want to abandon Liverpool, despite the ongoing hostility of fans, which they will encounter first hand next Sunday when Anfield hosts Chelsea in the Premier League. The Reds are second in the standings and in their best position since the 1990 title triumph to win the English championship. Hicks searching for Liverpool funding in Mideast - - SI.com

From Rawk: ShanksLegend Re: All is not well for Liverpool co-owner George Gillett... « Reply #123 on: December 24, 2008, 01:06:57 AM » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting article that, back in September Hicks, GG, Parry, Moores all met in Toronto prior to the Stoke game at home. That was when the yanks made it clear that they would be actively looking for someone to come in and buy the club and would therefore listen to any offer that suited and matched all requirements and the values of the club. There was a party interested from Hong Kong a billionaire around 3 weeks ago but its all quiet now, i doubt we wiill see anything now until the deadline of re finance passes, it looks like they will get the extension as it has been granted by RBS. And today hkkop Re: All is not well for Liverpool co-owner George Gillett... « Reply #188 on: Today at 06:45:27 PM » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I heard something absolutely random today, thought I'd share anyway. I attended a press conference this morning, met one of my ex-school mate, who is a top finance journalist in Hong Kong. Knowing I'm a Liverpool fan, he told me one of the uber rich businessmen in town is interested in LFC, he is arranging a meeting with H+G, probably next month. He also told me that businessman is "a lifelong Liverpool fan", with sterling hits all-time low, he thinks it's a good investment but then he has to "wait and see what happens next". I tried to ask him more but he refused to dig any deeper, then again he works for a rival paper, so we just stopped there. With all the hints he's given I can't really think of anyone who fits the LFC loving uber rich Hong Kong businessmen bracket, or he might just be teasing me in the first place, I don't work in Finance section so I really don't know how true is that, don't shoot me if I'm wrong. All is not well for Liverpool co-owner George Gillett...

Any clues to who the other potential middle eastern investor could be as mentioned in Olly Kay's article?

The Times December 8, 2008 Liverpool shaken by loss of potential buyer Oliver Kay The Liverpool ownership saga has taken another twist, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, telling the club’s owners that he has finally dropped his interest after an unsuccessful two-year pursuit. Amanda Staveley, who has been negotiating on Sheikh Mohammed’s behalf since the turn of the year, has informed Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr that he is no longer in contention to buy the club because of the financial climate and their refusal to lower an “unrealistic” £600 million valuation. This was initially regarded in some quarters as a negotiating tactic, but Staveley has told the Americans and their respective legal teams that there is no prospect of a bid for Liverpool being revived. Hicks and Gillett are aware of other potential investors, at least one of them from the Middle East, but the likelihood is that the club will have to muddle on for the time being. The owners hope to be granted a six-month extension to their £350million loan from Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, which expires on January 25, but their long-term prospects at Anfield remain bleak. Gillett, in particular, recognises the need to sell because of the effects of the credit crunch, but, if Sheikh Mohammed is serious about having dropped his interest, the Americans are in danger of running out of potential buyers Liverpool shaken by loss of potential buyer | Liverpool - Times Online

Coop, do you think this is game over for the arabs? First Tony Barrett and now thinns leaking out into the national press, its not exactly boding well.

Dubai royals end interest in buying Liverpool | Mail Online Dubai royals end interest in buying LiverpoolBy Daniel King Last updated at 7:29 PM on 06th December 2008 The Dubai Royal Family have ended their interest in a £500million offer to buy Liverpool, leaving the controversial American owners in charge until at least next July. The high asking price and financial downturn in Dubai have persuaded the family of Sheikh Al-Maktoum to pull the plug on the deal that Amanda Staveley, who brokered the Abu Dhabi takeover at Manchester City, has been mediating. The lack of any realistic buyer means the Royal Bank of Scotland and American bank Wachovia are even less likely to force owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to sell the club on or before January 25, when their £350m refinancing deal runs out, and will therefore agree to the July extension allowed for in the original deal. The Dubai royals had tried to buy Liverpool before the American pair in December 2006. They renewed their interest a year later when the Americans quoted them a £1billion price tag. The Al-Maktoums indicated they would pay around £500m, but the reluctance of the Americans to sell to them, combined with the economic climate, has dashed their enthusiasm.

TONY BARRETT: Stick or twist - the winner will take it all in Rafa Benitez contract talks - Liverpool Echo.co.uk Dubai hope fading out? DUBAI has admitted it wont be immune from the credit crisis. Having indulged in one of the world’s biggest ever spending sprees, the emirate has built up a debt of around $80bn. Dubai is feeling the pinch and spending plans are under review, with sources suggesting it is unlikely it will maintain its long standing interest in Liverpool FC.

globeandmail.com: Habs could feel ripple effects of owner's loan Habs could feel ripple effects of owner's loan Gillett borrows $75-million against another sports asset, which might lead to pressure on storied NHL team SEAN GORDON AND PAUL WALDIE December 3, 2008 MONTREAL and TORONTO -- Montreal Canadiens owner and Colorado-based debt-financing king George Gillett is engaged in another financial high-wire act that could have an impact on Canada's most storied hockey franchise. According to a lien filed in Delaware, Gillett has taken out a high-interest, $75-million (all currency U.S.) personal loan from a U.S.-based private investment fund, putting up his heavily-leveraged share of British soccer giant Liverpool Football Club as collateral. Though the loan doesn't directly involve Gillett's separate ownership of the Canadiens, it's clear that the global credit crunch is having an impact on his other businesses, and could well splash onto the NHL team, which continues to carry an estimated $240-million in arena debt. If Gillett's other interests begin to collapse, it will heap added financial pressure on the Canadiens and concert revenues from the Bell Centre, and only fuel speculation over his continued ownership. As someone who also counts dozens of car dealerships and several up-market ski resorts to his name, Gillett may be in the wrong businesses at the wrong time. That Gillett would seek the loan from a relatively obscure lender rather than a well-established bank illustrates the difficulty many monied, but leveraged investors are having raising capital. It also shows he's keen enough to have the money that he's willing to incur steep interest costs, which could rise to as high as 19 per cent. The five-year loan is from a Virginia-based company called Mill Financial, and was taken out on Jan. 25, 2008, according to the documents. As security for the loan, Gillett's company, Delaware-incorporated Gillett Football LLC, pledged all of its "right, title and interest in Football Investments LLC," the documents show. Gillett owns his 50-per-cent stake in Liverpool through Football Investments. A spokesman for Gillett declined to comment on either the loan or his overall financial picture. Though speculation was rampant in sports business circles earlier this year that Gillett was interested in taking on a partner, that talk has been strenuously denied, as have suggestions he is interested in selling the team outright (most recently floated in a newspaper interview quoting technology billionaire Jim Balsillie). "I don't know who would want to invent such a story," Gillett said of the rumours last month. But it's clear Gillett is among the many NHL owners facing stormy financial seas because of the economic downturn. Hockey industry sources say at least three other teams - the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Phoenix Coyotes - have recently taken out high-interest loans with distress lenders or private equity funds because of tightening credit in the United States. But unlike most of his NHL peers, Gillett is an old hand when it comes to complicated, debt-laden financial deals. Whether it was buying into his first sports team - the Miami Dolphins, at 28 - or using the money from his sale of the Harlem Globetrotters to buy a meatpacking plant, Gillett has rarely been afraid to spend money to make money. In 1991, Gillett's businesses - then focused largely on ski resorts and television stations - went bankrupt after defaulting on $983-million in junk bonds. The next year he filed for personal bankruptcy, giving his $5-million classic car collection to a creditor to settle a debt and selling his 250,000-acre ranch in Oregon. (He also had to buy his clothes back from the bankruptcy trustee.) Since then, Gillett has rebuilt his fortune, and bought into two of the world's most legendary sports teams. Gillett and his partner Tom Hicks, who also owns the Dallas Stars and baseball's Texas Rangers, are in hock to the tune of more than $600-million over their purchase of Liverpool, and are facing mounting pressure from supporters to sell. For the time being, the Canadiens and the Bell Centre, which Gillett bought in 2001 for roughly $180-million, are probably the strongest businesses in the Gillett empire. But with the Canadiens spending $11.5-million annually on revenue sharing and the Canadian dollar sliding fast, the NHL team is bracing for difficult times. Gillett is running into challenges at some of his other holdings as well. Last year he sold his interest in Swift & Co., a Colorado-based meat company that had only one profitable quarter in four years. The sale came a few months after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Swift plants in six states and arrested more than 1,200 workers for having fake identification. Gillett bought the company in 2002 along with a private equity firm. Gillett is also a car lover and last year he became the majority owner of a NASCAR team. "Racing is in my blood," Gillett said at the time, noting his family's long history in the auto business. But the team - Gillett Evernham Motorsports - is now in a state of flux. A couple of weeks ago, Gillett's partner, former NASCAR champion Ray Evernham, said he wants to sell his 20-per-cent interest. A spokeswoman for the team said yesterday that Evernham has had discussions with potential buyers but has yet to cut a deal. Times are tough for NASCAR, in general, as the U.S. auto industry runs out of gas. Sponsorships are drying up and several teams have already announced plans to scale back (it costs roughly $25-million annually to run a competitive car). The Gillett Evernham team drives Chrysler cars but is trying to cut a deal with Toyota. The Sports Business Journal reported this week that Mill Financial's parent company, Springfield Financial, is selling the $75-million note - which is subject to an interest rate as high as 19 per cent - and that it's expected that will be done by mid-month. Citing anonymous sources, the publication said Gillett and a group of investors are negotiating to acquire the debt, as is another entity seeking control of Gillett's slice of Liverpool, which would presumably be available if he were to default on the loan. Even if he doesn't succeed in acquiring the note, Gillett has the possibility of paying it off - assuming he can come up with the liquid cash - by Jan. 25, the magazine said.

George Gillett in surprise visit to Reds - Liverpool FC latest - Liverpool Echo.co.uk George Gillett in surprise visit to Reds - Liverpool FC latest Dec 1 2008 By Tony Barrett GEORGE Gillett today visited Anfield for the first time since September. The reasons for his surprise visit are unclear but Liverpool's co-owner spent several hours at the stadium before leaving this afternoon. Gillett was last in Liverpool three months ago for the Reds clash with Manchester United. On that occasion, the American watched the game from the directors box and he is expected to take in tonight's match between Liverpool and West Ham. Meanwhile, reports today emerged in the USA suggesting Gillett is struggling to refinance $75m of personal debt. The Sports Business Journal claims Gillett borrowed the money from Mill Financial in January this year and is due to be repaid next month. The report also claims that Springfield Financial Company, which Mill Financial is a branch of, is trying to sell the debt and there has been interest in it from at least one suitor who is interested in acquiring Gillett's stake in Liverpool Football Club. The Journal believes Gillett himself is trying to buy the debt with the help of investors.

Normally I'd agree with you but with the economic climate as it is he's probably just as much in the shit as Gillet

I wonder who's trying to aquire this debt, could it be Sheikh Mo?

Coop, some of the banker types on rawk have been suggesting that the yanks cant find a buyer and that the arabs are no longer interested, have Dubai walked away from the deal or are they still waiting for the yanks to bring the price down to an appropriate level?

RAFA BENITEZ NEW DEAL | Liverpool boss to sign two-year contract extension by Christmas | Sport|Football | News Of The World RAFA BENITEZ NEW DEAL Liverpool boss to sign two-year contract extension by Christmas By CHRIS BASCOMBE, 29/11/2008 RAFA BENITEZ will reject Real Madrid for a third time to sign a two-year extension to his deal at Liverpool. The Kop boss this week told the Anfield board he would rather stay than go — despite renewed interest from the Spanish giants. Now Spaniard Benitez is closing in on an agreement that will keep him on Merseyside until at least 2012. Following talks with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, both parties are confident a deal will be struck before Christmas. Benitez said: “My advisers were in contact with them and we are waiting for a new contract right now. Sooner rather than later we will have another communication.” The deal represents an extraordinary turnaround for the Spanish coach, who was on the brink of being sacked 12 months ago. The owners’ eagerness to tie down Benitez is directly related to their plan to sell the Anfield club. They are searching for a buyer and have been advised that the uncertainty over the manager’s position makes Liverpool unattractive. Hicks and Gillett know they must sell before July because of their £350million debt — and key players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will also be in line for deals in 2009. Skipper Gerrard will have two years left on his contract this summer and wants to commit his future to Liverpool for life. And star striker Torres will need to be rewarded for his impact to fend off the prospect of big-money bids. Hicks and Gillett will not have the cash to make any significant financial commitments while their stadium plans are on hold. The transfer budget will also be decided by Reds’ on-field displays — assisted this week by the £10m assured from their Champions League progress.

Havent payed a great deal of attention over the last 10 days or so on the takeover stuff, where exactly do we think we're at if anywhere in regards to Hicks and Gillet selling?

I got mines over the weekend

According to RAWK BBC NW are reporting that MP's are pressuring the govt to intervene on the issue of refinance to make sure the yankee cunts dont get it due to the stadium debacle and the halted regeneration of the Anfield area They're fucked

Owners launch bid to find buyer for Liverpool | Liverpool - Times Online Owners launch bid to find buyer for Liverpool Tony Evans and Helen Power Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool owners, have signalled that they are ready to sell their stake at Anfield after engaging Merrill Lynch, the investment bank, to find a buyer for the club. The Americans need to restructure their £350million loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which expires on January 25. However, the bank, at present under public ownership because of the credit crunch, has adopted a policy of restructuring loans only in extremely favourable conditions. While discussions with Gillett and Hicks have not yet opened, their circumstances are not believed to fall into this category. The owners have always denied that the club were available for sale but the latest move signals an acceptance that the American duo's future control is unsustainable. Although the Liverpool owners denied yesterday that Merrill Lynch has been engaged, The Times understands that auditors looked at Liverpool's books last week with a view to finding a buyer. So far, the search appears to be unsuccessful. Sheikh Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, has maintained a longstanding interest in acquiring Liverpool but has balked at the price tag set by the American pair, which is upwards of £550 million. The owners admitted last month that plans for a new stadium in Stanley Park have been put on hold indefinitely. RBS is bracing itself for a campaign of protest by the Spirit of Shankly, a Liverpool supporters' union. An offer from Dubai of £500million has been on the table for many months, but there has been minimal contact between the Sheikh's representative, Amanda Staveley, and the American camp over the past few months. Rumours of interest from Robert Kraft have swirled around Anfield in the past few weeks but it is not believed that the owner of the New England Patriots American football team is a viable bidder for Liverpool.

This maybe wishful thinking but imo it serves no purpose for Dubai to leave their offer on the table right now b/c in essence it serves as collatral for Hicks to show the banks he has this in his back pocket if things dont play out as he wants .... w/o the possibility of an interested buyer on tap Hicks' position weakened, he needs Dubai to be there waiting in the wings Kraft having a look at the books doesnt mean a deal is close, he's been there before and didnt take the oppertunity, why would he invest vast somes of money unless he had an equal say so Dubai could well pick up the peices next july for far less then they would have to pay now