Dubai International to make bid for Liverpool FC

[jrd7]

The Herbert article sounds much better, IF we are stuck with them i hope he's right

Don't ****ing buy a word of it - it's dressing up the facts

[bigfooty]

Andy Hunter
Friday January 25, 2008
The Guardian

Tom Hicks and George Gillett are expected to cement their control of Liverpool this morning by announcing that they have secured a £350m loan to refinance their takeover and allow work to start on a new 70,000-seat stadium. The news will be a major setback to Dubai International Capital's attempts to buy out the Americans and to supporters in revolt at the co-chairmen's controversial reign.

The Liverpool owners had intended to unveil both the refinancing package and their new designs for a stadium on Stanley Park before yesterday's self-imposed deadline. That deadline passed without an announcement but it is understood terms were agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland and the US investment bank Wachovia last night. The delays were the result of lawyers and accountants on both sides of the Atlantic having to sift through documentation concerning the loan, with the signing and announcement of the deal postponed until the start of business today at the request of RBS.

Gillett and Hicks believe the package will end the uncertainty over the ownership of the club after DIC re-emerged as a serious bidder. The hope that it will also allow them to regain favour with Liverpool supporters over the 18-month duration of the loan may prove more forlorn, because fans are now organising financial boycotts of the club and of Liverpool's sponsors. That will not deter the co-chairmen from populist moves in an attempt to regain supporters' confidence, however, with the long-term signing of Javier Mascherano a priority once the loan is in place.

The Argentina international is in the final six months of an 18-month loan spell at Anfield but is attracting interest from Manchester City, Barcelona and Juventus after Gillett and Hicks refused to sanction a £17m deal to sign him on a long-term basis. However, the midfielder has frequently stated that he would prefer to remain with Liverpool and the co-chairmen intend to revive talks with his owner, Kia Joorabchian, with a view to securing his signature before the end of this season.

A more direct route towards supporters' trust would be to end the uncertainty over the future of the popular Rafael Benítez, whom Hicks undermined further last week with the admission that he and Gillett had approached Jürgen Klinsmann with a view to having the German replace the Spaniard as manager. That confession accentuated a divide between the Liverpool co-chairmen over how much of the £350m loan should become a burden on the club, although Gillett did not take up an approach from DIC to present his business partner with an offer for his 50% share.

Hicks has since vowed to learn from the mistakes that have destabilised the Americans' reign and reassuring Benítez he has a long-term future at Anfield would be a start. But the Liverpool manager's relationship with the Texan remains fractious and whether Benítez would want to continue working for the current owners, despite his deep affection for the club, is uncertain. Benítez also knows he needs a strong run in this season's Champions League and a vast improvement in Liverpool's league form to persuade the Americans to allow him to continue his rebuilding of the club.

The RBS and Wachovia loan will enable Hicks and Gillett to repay the £298m they have borrowed over the past 12 months to purchase the club, absorb existing debts of £44.8m, sign players and finance work on the new stadium. The additional funds will repay interest and enable work on the stadium project - revised after Hicks's plans came in over budget - to commence. Designs for the stadium are expected to be made public along with the announcement of the loan.

Of the £350m refinancing package only £105m will be saddled on Liverpool, with £185m secured on Hicks's and Gillett's holding company, Kop Investment. The Americans have increased their personal guarantees from £30m each to about £55m.

The amount of debt on the club's books represents a battle won by the chief executive, Rick Parry, and the former chairman and now honorary president, David Moores, who both refused to sign up to plans to burden the club with responsibility for the full £350m loan. Neither was in a position to block the loan itself but they may pay a price for their intransigence once the Americans secure their hold on the club.

With £60m of the £105m club debt allocated to stadium costs Liverpool will be left with a working capital debt of £45m - almost identical to the working debt under Moores.

[Guest]

I'd just want to know how we'll finance acquisition of players in the coming years, and there's still another £ 300m to be negotiated by these yanks for the latter stage of the stadium !

[Guest]

Really don't need an accountant for basic wool-pulling mate.

The other half is taken out by KOP holdings. What do you think will be their main source of income will be?

We get to pay for Hicks tooing and throwing on the stadium, the players we bought last summer and all of the debt we had in the first place.

If I was good enough at maths to have become an accountant, then I would tell you that, in layman's terms - They've still not paid 1p towards our club and we've got, in various guises 350 million worth of debt to pay off.

let's have a whip round.

Aren't texas 200 million in debt and defaulting on loans with Hicks blaming the fans for not spending enough, and pushing up ticket prices for remaining fans?

Think about that, the next apologist cunt who tries to brush this under the carpet. You may think that now but what about on 2010 when we've had no money for players and are looking up at Everton and Newcastle.

We sold the club to get out of this position, not make it 350 million times worse

That's what we're assuming mate, but as you say, figures can be truncated anyway or the other, just to disguise the truth.

[bigfooty]

That last line to me highlights where our problem will be. Under Moores we had to borrow, scrimp and save to get Kuyt because, as a club, we couldn't afford him ourselves. Now we're in a position where not only do we have the same level of relative debt, which suggests to me were fkd on the transfer front unless we sell some family jewels, but we have to find an extra 30M a year or so to fund this loan that has been used to buy the club.

And then we also have to still find about 290M to do the stadium, assuming its going to cost around 350M in total.

Moores and Parry have to answer for this because it seems to me as if all they've done is sell out to the club to a pair of guys who were able to get a loan to buy it. There doesn't appear to have been any thought gone into it and though they deserve some credit for staving off an even poorer position the long-term impact on the club could still be pretty severe.

[Guest]

That last line to me highlights where our problem will be. Under Moores we had to borrow, scrimp and save to get Kuyt because, as a club, we couldn't afford him ourselves. Now we're in a position where, not only do we have the same level of relative debt, which suggests to me were fkd on the transfer front unless we sell some family jewels, but we have to find an extra 30M a year or so to fund this loan that has been used to buy the club.

And then we also have to still find about 290M to do the stadium, assuming its going to cost around 350M in total.

That's what the americans have to explain. They have to come before us detailing what they're planning to do. But again, Hicks will be lying.

[JCase]

I'd just want to know how we'll finance acquisition of players in the coming years, and there's still another £ 300m to be negotiated by these yanks for the latter stage of the stadium !

I don't think we'll be getting that many players to TBA. We'll be lucky if these fookers tie us the Mashewr deal and extend Rafa's contract. Maybe throw in a striker who knows where the back of the net is eh?

I think we will sell before buying. Suspect the following will be off in summer: Kuyt, Crouch, Riise, Kewell (payroll).

[Danish_Pastry]

So overloaded with debt to pay intrest for - also those in Kop Holdings (which is owned by Hicks and Gillett - but only runs the club - so the owners will squeeeze as much capital out of the club as possible (and maybe even a little to much for themselves)) - and STILL to find 290 m£ for a stadium.

HOW CAN WE THINK THAT HICKS WILL DO OTHERWISE TO LFC THAN TO CORINTHIANS WHERE HE ALSO KEPT PROMISING A STADIUM _ BUT NEVER DID BUILD ONE???

I still hope .............. just hope .....

[1 True Red]

£20m or so will probably be used to finance the sacking of Rafa and to get in a new manager.

[AFII]

Sorry for all the bother - here's Mascherano for your troubles
EXCLUSIVE
By David Maddock 25/01/2008

Liverpool's American owners are ready to signal their commitment to the club by funding the £17million capture of Javier Mascherano (left).

Tom Hicks (inset) and George Gillett are confident they will today wrap up the refinancing package that will strengthen their control at Anfield, despite efforts by DIC to buy them out.

And with it, the two billionaires want to offer a message of intent to fans which they hope will put behind them the tension and unrest of the past few weeks. By signing midfielder Mascherano on a permanent basis, it will offer concrete evidence to fans that there is still big money to invest in players, and they intend to spend big in their quest for a successful team.

But more significantly, it will show their backing for manager Rafael Benitez.

Liverpool will have work to do to persuade the midfielder to sign, though, because last night he hinted that he could be ready to move on from England. He has been strongly linked with a move to Juventus or Barcelona.

He said: "At Liverpool I have found my home. However I feel that now the time has come to move on. Maybe I would like to leave the Premier League. A move to Juventus? Well I like to travel."

But there is now real determination to convince the Argentinian to stay. Hicks and Gillett were the subject of protests from supporters at recent matches, who made calls for their removal as owners of the club, and they want to ease that situation.

A source at bankers RBS, who are offering the refinance package, confirmed that the £350million deal should go through today and that, contrary to fans fears, will be stacked largely against Hicks and Gillett, and not the club.

Benitez is hoping to complete the sale of Momo Sissoko to Juventus for £9m over the weekend.

[sinbad]

Thank you Mr Moores, Thank you Mr Parry. It took you 18 years, but you finally. brought this great club to its knees.
Took you 5 years to find a suitable custodian for the family silver.One year on, we're in the worst state of any big club in Europe.

Jan07: 45 million debt. No New Stadium

After Yanks Investment

Jan08: 350 million debt. No New Stadium


****in Depressed.

[kop-al-74]

One thing i cant understand is if theres £60m for the start of building of the new stadium,where the other estimated £250m gonna come from?

[JohnDoe]

One thing i cant understand is if theres £60m for the start of building of the new stadium,where the other estimated £250m gonna come from?

Another loan.

[bigfooty]

Yep, another loan that will be secured against the naming rights, future commercial income from the stadium etc.

[carlton]

Pretty much like what Arsenal did