Liverpool's owners will continue to listen to bids for the club - but remain adamant they will not sell at a knockdown price.
A High Court writ for breach of contract, brought by investment bank Seymour Pierce against a consortium led by Kuwait's Al-Kharafi family, claims George Gillett and Tom Hicks had been involved in talks with the Arabs for more than a year before negotiations broke down for the third time at the end of last month.
But club sources claim that, despite the July deadline to renegotiate the huge loans which financed their takeover two years ago, the American pair are not actively seeking to sell and will not do so unless the price is right and they consider the would-be owners to be suitable. Several parties are understood to have approached Hicks and Gillett, but there is no deal on the table.
Neither Hicks nor Gillett would comment last night, but last week a prospective member of Al-Kharafi consortium took the highly unusual step for an Arab businessman of going public with a claim that Liverpool's owners were demanding too much for the club - thought to be around £500million.
The writ suggests that talks with the Al-Kharafis began soon after the Americans agreed new terms for their loans with the Royal Bank of Scotland and American institution Wachovia in January 2008.
Although Hicks now seems to be the one driving a possible sale to the Kuwaitis, with his lieutenant Roy Bailey in the Middle East in recent weeks, the writ, seen by the Mail on Sunday, claims the Gillett camp were the primary movers this time last year. It is believed that a sale was all but finalised last July, only for the Al-Kharafi consortium to walk away at the last minute.
The claim lodged with the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court on February 25 this year says that Seymour Pierce was engaged on February 27 2008, by Rafed Al-Kharafi and the Al-Kharafi National Group to be the exclusive adviser on a takeover of Liverpool.
According to the document, the Al-Kharafis agreed to pay Seymour Pierce an initial fee of £100,000 once Hicks and Gillett had agreed to talks about a sale and a corporate finance fee of £150,000 once the bank had obtained private financial information to aid consideration of the purchase.
By March 18, the document claims, both Gillett and Hicks had indicated they wanted to sell to the Kuwaitis. On April 10, May 15 and June 17, it is alleged, Gillett's advisers provided confidential information to Seymour Pierce, including a list of all salaries at the club, while the Hicks camp forwarded the club's 10-year financial projections.
Including expenses and interest, the total claim is for £302,368.89. The writ also says that the contract between Seymour Pierce, fronted by football deal-maker Keith Harris, and the Al-Kharafi family included a success fee. Sources suggest that if the Kuwaitis do eventually buy Liverpool, Seymour Pierce will claim a further £7million.
A High Court writ for breach of contract, brought by investment bank Seymour Pierce against a consortium led by Kuwait's Al-Kharafi family, claims George Gillett and Tom Hicks had been involved in talks with the Arabs for more than a year before negotiations broke down for the third time at the end of last month.
But club sources claim that, despite the July deadline to renegotiate the huge loans which financed their takeover two years ago, the American pair are not actively seeking to sell and will not do so unless the price is right and they consider the would-be owners to be suitable. Several parties are understood to have approached Hicks and Gillett, but there is no deal on the table.
Neither Hicks nor Gillett would comment last night, but last week a prospective member of Al-Kharafi consortium took the highly unusual step for an Arab businessman of going public with a claim that Liverpool's owners were demanding too much for the club - thought to be around £500million.
The writ suggests that talks with the Al-Kharafis began soon after the Americans agreed new terms for their loans with the Royal Bank of Scotland and American institution Wachovia in January 2008.
Although Hicks now seems to be the one driving a possible sale to the Kuwaitis, with his lieutenant Roy Bailey in the Middle East in recent weeks, the writ, seen by the Mail on Sunday, claims the Gillett camp were the primary movers this time last year. It is believed that a sale was all but finalised last July, only for the Al-Kharafi consortium to walk away at the last minute.
The claim lodged with the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court on February 25 this year says that Seymour Pierce was engaged on February 27 2008, by Rafed Al-Kharafi and the Al-Kharafi National Group to be the exclusive adviser on a takeover of Liverpool.
According to the document, the Al-Kharafis agreed to pay Seymour Pierce an initial fee of £100,000 once Hicks and Gillett had agreed to talks about a sale and a corporate finance fee of £150,000 once the bank had obtained private financial information to aid consideration of the purchase.
By March 18, the document claims, both Gillett and Hicks had indicated they wanted to sell to the Kuwaitis. On April 10, May 15 and June 17, it is alleged, Gillett's advisers provided confidential information to Seymour Pierce, including a list of all salaries at the club, while the Hicks camp forwarded the club's 10-year financial projections.
Including expenses and interest, the total claim is for £302,368.89. The writ also says that the contract between Seymour Pierce, fronted by football deal-maker Keith Harris, and the Al-Kharafi family included a success fee. Sources suggest that if the Kuwaitis do eventually buy Liverpool, Seymour Pierce will claim a further £7million.
1 comment:
its funny one minute the yanks promised the garden of eden, now they are greedy and desperate to sell the club at a stupid price with the summer approaching and we need new players and new owners if they are not gone by september i will stop supporting the club which ive been supporting since 1984.
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