Day Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Liverpool have moved a step closer to being sold to new owners, with New England Sports Ventures hoping to have a £300m bid accepted by the board. Mr Justice Floyd ruled in the High Court that current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had no power to block the sale to the Boston Red Sox owners. Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton said a new board would be reconstituted which would decide who to sell to. He said: "It would be inappropriate to pre-judge what the board will say." Hicks and Gillett had asked to delay the hearing of an application by creditors Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for mandatory orders, paving the way for a possible sale this week. But the plea was rejected by the judge, and at RBS's request the court imposed injunctions on the two men requiring them to restore the original constitutions of the companies and managing directors. RBS is now able to recoup its original £237m loan to Hicks and Gillett. Broughton, for whom Wednesday's ruling is a significant victory, had consistently claimed that when the owners decided to put the club up for sale in April, RBS requested undertakings from them that only he - as independent chairman - could make changes to the club's board. However, minutes before a meeting last week to discuss the bid by NESV, Hicks tried to sack Purslow and Ayre and install his son, Mack, and Lori McCutcheon, who works for Hicks Holdings. Broughton rejected the proposal and continued with the meeting, with the England-based board members coming down in favour of the NESV bid. In court, Philip Snowden QC, for RBS, had told Mr Justice Floyd that Hicks and Gillett were committing "a calculated breach of contract" by seeking to change the constitution of the board without the consent of the bank. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9080946.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartley Hare Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Typical, Hicks and Gillett lose a ruling in 1 court, so they go and get an injunction in another! -------- Liverpool's prospective new owner NESV is prepared to wait to conclude its £300m takeover of the club. The purchase was delayed on Wednesday after current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett gained an injunction. But having earlier won a High Court battle to seemingly confirm the deal, NESV chief John Henry is set to wait. "He is prepared to wait for the order to be lifted. Sources tell me he has binding agreements," BBC sports editor David Bond said. Hicks and Gillett gained the injunction in a Texas court only hours after their bid to prevent the £300m sale to NESV had been thrown out by the High Court. The petition, in which they describe the sale as an "epic swindle", is due to be heard on 25 October, though Bond suggested that those wanting to push through the deal - NESV, Liverpool's board and the club's creditor Royal Bank of Scotland - will aim for a swift resolution. "RBS is likely to try to push through the deadline," added Bond. "There are meetings going on between lawyers, especially RBS's lawyers, about what they do next and the feeling is they want to put pressure back on Hicks and Gillett to allow this deal to go through." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9091246.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archram Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 It's turning into football's very own Eastenders with all these twists ( allegedly!!) and turns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuespachRam Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Typical, Hicks and Gillett lose a ruling in 1 court, so they go and get an injunction in another! -------- Liverpool's prospective new owner NESV is prepared to wait to conclude its £300m takeover of the club. The purchase was delayed on Wednesday after current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett gained an injunction. But having earlier won a High Court battle to seemingly confirm the deal, NESV chief John Henry is set to wait. "He is prepared to wait for the order to be lifted. Sources tell me he has binding agreements," BBC sports editor David Bond said. Hicks and Gillett gained the injunction in a Texas court only hours after their bid to prevent the £300m sale to NESV had been thrown out by the High Court. The petition, in which they describe the sale as an "epic swindle", is due to be heard on 25 October, though Bond suggested that those wanting to push through the deal - NESV, Liverpool's board and the club's creditor Royal Bank of Scotland - will aim for a swift resolution. "RBS is likely to try to push through the deadline," added Bond. "There are meetings going on between lawyers, especially RBS's lawyers, about what they do next and the feeling is they want to put pressure back on Hicks and Gillett to allow this deal to go through." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9091246.stm Who can blame them for trying to hang on....it is, after all, their money, they are only trying to get what they perceive as rightfully theirs. Liverpool think that just because they are the mighty Liverpool that people should roll over and beg for them, fair play to Hicks and Gillette for sticking to their guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartley Hare Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 I can understand that Michel, but when they spout on about "doing what's best for Liverpool FC" and then do all they can to drag the thing on and on....... If they block the sale and wait for a higher bid to come along (presumably higher than the other bid for 320 mil they've received as they'll still come out of it with no money) then the bank can just put the club into administration and the club takes a 9 point penalty. None of which is in the club's best interest. There's no way someone is going to bid 600mil for Liverpool with the state they're in, if hey want out they really should just cut their losses and go. Substitute GSE for Hicks and Gillett and I think you'd be taking a different tack. Hicks & Gillett made an investment, with risk attached. They've lost money. Stuff happens. Move on. Otherwise, last one out turn out the lights.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartley Hare Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Liverpool will return to the High Court in London on Thursday in the battle to determine the future of the club. The Reds were close to being sold to New England Sports Ventures after co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett failed to win back control of the club. But the sale to NESV was dramatically halted by an injunction granted to Hicks and Gillett by a court in Texas. Now the Liverpool board will head to the Royal Courts of Justice again in a bid to overturn that decision. A sale is required with the club's main creditor Royal Bank of Scotland keen to recoup £200m in loans, having previously threatened to place the club into administration if a 15 October deadline passed without a sale having completed. The threat of administration and the nine-point penalty that would accompany it appeared to have passed on Wednesday when Hicks and Gillett's opposition to the sale was dismissed by the High Court, but their subsequent injunction muddied the waters once more. At the heart of the American's tactics is a belief that the club is being undersold - they value it at £600m, while NESV's deal, worth half that amount, would result in them losing about £140m. Hicks and Gillett have claimed that rival bids were not given due consideration and it now appears that one of those bids - from Mill Financial - could emerge as a serious contender. NESV's deal seemed to be legally binding, but sources suggest that Mill Financial has acquired Tom Hicks' shares having already taken Gillett's holding after he defaulted on a loan payment. With the group also believed to have bought off Wells Fargo's 25% debt stake, it could now be in pole position to force through a deal. BBC Radio 5 live's Brian Alexander said: "It looks to me as if Mill Financial - the hedge fund owned by Dwight Schar - have now edged ahead in a three-horse race. "We have heard from RBS that if Mill have taken not only George Gillett's shares but also Tom Hicks' then they are in pole position to complete a takeover. "If they repay the £200m to RBS, it puts Mill very much in the driving seat and as a result of that the deal with NESV and John Henry would collapse." More to follow. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9091246.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 I hope they go into administration,get relegated and the ground burns down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I hope they go into administration,get relegated and the ground burns down. hopefully when its full? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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