Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Liverpool FC: Hicks’ Sale Plans Hit A Snag

Reports in America suggest the sale of Liverpool FC co-owner Tom Hicks' Texas Rangers MLB franchise, thought to be a done deal, may have hit a snag.

SportsBusiness Journal sources have indicated that MLB officials last week informed the team’s creditors that there would be delays in responding to the lenders’ concerns about the deal.

Liverpool co-owner Hicks wrapped up a deal worth some US$500 million at the end of January. Much to the chagrin of Liverpool fans, none of that cash was injected into the English Premier League team.

Now, it seems, the true complexities of the Texas Rangers sale are slowly emerging, with lenders and lawsuits revolving around Hicks but spilling over into the ownership transfer process itself. It remains unclear as to how much of the cash from the sale Hicks will see.

Chuck Greenberg, the lawyer at the centre of the buyout group, is still confident that the deal will be finalised by his self-imposed 1st April deadline. "We've had delays, not of our making," he said, "but you deal with it and move on. Nothing yet has knocked us off the 1st April date. What's best for us, for Tom, and for the team, is to finally get this thing done."

Hicks, meanwhile, was handed a boost last week as it was revealed that Liverpool's revenues, despite the owners' well-documented troubles, have been boosted by almost €10 million.

The English Premier League side recently handed lucrative contract extensions to Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Yossi Benayoun and Pepe Reina.

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