Sunday, May 31, 2009

Rafa Benitez Set For Transfer Boost With Liverpool Set To Seal £350m Refinancing Deal


Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are set to issue a statement of intent about their long-term commitment to the club by landing a £350million refinancing deal.

Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that accountants from the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo are currently examining Liverpool's financial figures with a view to agreeing a loan package that will ease the pressure on the two Americans.

The move could also bring an improved summer transfer budget for manager Rafa Benitez, who has made Carlos Tevez his No.1 target, but is unable to meet the £25.5m price being asked by the Argentine's owners.

The deal will hinge on Hicks and Gillett pouring more of their own personal finance into Anfield - and the pair are looking to raise funds by selling off some of their other sporting interests in the United States.

Hicks is ready to sell his majority stake in baseball club Texas Rangers while Gillett is searching for a buyer for the ice hockey outfit Montreal Canadiens to gen-eratcash. But with Liverpool set to announce record turnover and increased profits of almost £40m this week, there is increased confidence that the club can easily service a new loan agreement.

An insider said: "Despite claims to the contrary, both owners have spent about £80m of their own money on Liverpool over the past two years.

"They have done so because they are committed to the club and because they always believed a new refinancing package would be agreed.

"The new deal is now very close to happening." The existing loan taken out to finance the initial purchase of the club is set to expire in July - and there were worries that the credit crunch would force Hicks and Gillett to sell.

But both men have healed the personal rift which saw Gillett trying to find a buyer for his 50 per cent stake in the club. And there was a growing confidence inside Anfield that they could win an extension of the loan facility anyway thanks to the club's profitability.

But now they are on the verge of agreeing a deal that will give them the scope to press ahead with their ambitious plans.

Top of the agenda will be to find investors to fund a new stadium at Stanley Park.

No comments: