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Red Sox owners buy Liverpool
England: Red Sox owners buy Liverpool
Marc Fox
Ten days before the October 15th deadline set by Royal Bank of Scotland for the sale of the club, the soap opera that is Liverpool's ownership saga has concluded – but not until after a spiteful twist overnight when joint owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett attempted to ward off two credible bids by removing MD Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board.
Purslow, Ayre and chairman Martin Broughton had gathered on Tuesday to discuss two approaches to purchasing the club from discredited American owners Hicks and Gillett, bids Liverpool FC branded "excellent financial offers".
Less than 24 hours later, the club released a statement confirming that one of the interested parties – New England Sports Ventures (NESV), owner of the baseball franchise Boston Red Sox – had met their criteria for suitable owners and the purchase would proceed subject to approval from the Premier League.
"The board decided to accept NESV’s proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner," chairman Martin Broughton said in a statement on the club’s website.
"NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox."
The price is thought to be in the region of £300 million, an amount that would wipe out the club's long-term debt of £237 million as well as the £40m of fees owed to RBS and provide the beleaguered 18-time champions a helping hand with their plans for a new stadium as well as desperately needed new signings.
“By removing the burden of acquisition debt, this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team,” Broughton added. “I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale.”
The problem with a purchase price around £300m is that nothing is left over for Hicks and Gillett, the US businessmen who have endured an uneasy relationship with the club's supporters since their takeover in 2007 and who value Liverpool at closer to £600m.
This amount was even higher when the pair conceded defeat and committed to selling on the club in April, despite only paying in the region of £230m to buy the club and its debts three-and-a-half years ago.
They claimed to have since invested around £170m.
The subsequent boardroom dispute between the trio of English board members and the American shareholders was perhaps an inevitable part of the ongoing takeover.
Although the entire five-man board had publicly stated their commitment to finding a buyer that could support and sustain the club in the future, Broughton, Purslow and Ayre – with time ticking away –found themselves under increasing pressure.
Not only had a penalty fee of £60m been set by RBS if the club was not sold and the debt repaid by October 15th, but the club also faced the threat of parent company Kop Holdings going into administration and a resulting nine-point penalty in the Premier League.
With Liverpool currently languishing in the relegation zone after collecting just six points from their opening seven games under Roy Hodgson, any points penalty would have seriously embroiled the club in a battle to retain their top flight status.
Hicks and Gillett released a statement overnight, clarifying that they would "resist any attempt to sell the club without due process or agreement by the owners".
The owners view the mere discussion of the two latest bids at yesterday's board meeting as tantamount to trying to sell the club behind their backs, and reacted by attempting to replace Purslow and Ayre with Hicks' son Mack and business associate Lori Kay McCutheon.
They claimed that the rival bids dramatically undervalue the club and virtually accused the fellow Liverpool directors of colluding to oust them before Purslow and Ayre responded through their lawyers.
However, subject to these legal proceeding and ratification by the EPL, Liverpool could now have new owners in time for the Merseyside derby on October 17th.
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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