DIC latest - the largely wild speculation thread

[Pablo]

But aren’t we back at some sort of square one?!

I remember the BBC “understanding” months ago that DIC had a £500m bid for us on the table – and look at the situation now.

Yes but the key thing today is that we have actually had quotes for the first time from DIC. Its the first irrefutable evidence that DIC want to buy the club. Its clear the pace of negotiations is picking up now.

[el matador]

There is a bid although naturally DIC arent going to confirm the figure. They have however confirmed there is no deadline in place.

This is good news overall. Much better than the potential that they could walk away for good by tomorrow morning. Thigs are finally moving on now.

gracias pablito.

[Steve101]

So there was no bid?

Amazing.

What next?

"BBC understands that a highly reliable and respected poster in an internet forum, who is known as "Rashid Bascome, of NOTW towers", has suggested that Hicks may or may not want to sell...but whatever the outcome he was right all along, and deserves the respect he's never had"

[Pablo]

gracias pablito.

de nada chico

[MattB]

Some extra quotes on bloomberg:

`Hopefully we can do a deal,'' Sameer al-Ansari, state- controlled Dubai International's chief executive officer, told a conference in Dubai today.

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton didn't respond to a phone message seeking comment. Hicks's spokesman Roy Winnick did not have any immediate comment when contacted by e-mail.

[Lecter]

just got a phonecall from a mate saying that some guy on koptalk called "sckair" has posted some inside info

anyone left on koptalk care to confirm or know anything about this fella??

I'm concerned!

The timings for closing the deal match what I've been told and posted to the forum but I think Hicks is really digging in and has no appetite for a sale. I truly think he wants to own the club outright.

Aside from what I've been told by my friends in the financial world I think this week is make or break and that DIC wont be pushed about.

Another worrying development is that a very good friend of mine, a motor sport journalist, who has no interest in football at all told, told me last night that DIC were not going to buy the club. He's just come back from Bahrain, looking at the Formula 1 facilities etc. Whilst he was there, the buzz was about DIC and their intention to buy the club. Anyway, the locals said it was a non-starter and that the deal fell through last week. He also said DIC were prepared to look at another club, probably not Newcastle but a London based team.

Just to point out my friend has no track record on football matters at all. However, he is on the money with motor sports! I've placed bets on his inside news in the past and won good money...

Edited by Sckair (Today at 08:30 AM)

This is interesting!

Hicks must match half of this offer by the midnight deadline or Gillett will be free to sell his shares.

DIC must be aware that Hicks can't raise the funds to complete an internal take over. If you think about it, Hicks must be struggling, he's known about DIC for at least 6 months. He and Gillett have had a problem since early February and he still can't put a package together to satisfy Gillett.

I think this is good news. DIC are forcing Hicks's hand and he's going to have to make a decision. The reality is keep mounting the debt and gamble on selling the club in the future or take a profit now. nothing in Hicks's history suggests he'll take the gamble. His previous investments have been with 'company' money and not his own. Or at least not a situation where he would loose out personally.

This is a £1bn gamble - we'll see if Hicks has the minerals or not!

Edited by Sckair (Today at 09:46 AM)

My contact in the States that previously said we should expect news on a Tuesday has just called me - as this is a Tuesday and it's all kicking off I trust him!

Apparently, Hicks has been actively fishing in the market for the last 24hrs to secure a loan to buy out Gillett. At of the end of business (New York) yesterday he did have an agreement in place to raise the funds. However the rate is crippling and he has been advised not to take the money. Also, it's such a bad deal common sense should prevent him from accepting the terms.

However, the guys in the markets believe that HIcks is very determined to show he can raise the funds. The key word here is 'show' - the underlying opinion is that he wants DIC to up their bid by $50m and invest in his South American cable communication business.

Gillett does not want to sell to Hicks so this avenue appears cut off. Therefore, DIC had to make a move and it appears they have done!

Prediction - DIC will own the club / have their offer accepted by Thursday!

I hope this helps and comes to be reality....

I'll update throughout the day.

Edited by Sckair ( 38 minutes 51 seconds ago)

[Jayesh87]

Some extra quotes on bloomberg:

`Hopefully we can do a deal,'' Sameer al-Ansari, state- controlled Dubai International's chief executive officer, told a conference in Dubai today.

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton didn't respond to a phone message seeking comment. Hicks's spokesman Roy Winnick did not have any immediate comment when contacted by e-mail.

Thats a first

[Harv]

geez

go away for a couple of hours and all hell breaks loose!!

I hope there is no deadline for our sake. Hicks would be a stubborn ******* and reject it, just to call their bluff.

One thing I'd question is whether Gillette would sell to Hicks. He may accept a bid from DIC...but he doesnt have to accept the bid from Hicks does he. Even though Hicks has first dibs, Gillette can just say **** it...im not selling. The only way im selling is if DIC buy it.

[Jayesh87]

Tom Hicks holds key to Liverpool future

Mar 4 2008 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo

DUBAI International Capital's interest in Liverpool Football Club has been the biggest open secret in English football for the past three months.

Today, that interest has hardened and a solid bid to buy the club for £400m has been lodged with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett which would allow them to walk away with a whopping £25m profit each.

While the fight for fourth place in the Premiership has been dominating the thoughts of Liverpool fans in recent days, the battle which matters most is the one going on between financial big hitters in London, Dubai, Dallas and Colorado.

DIC is desperate to get its hands on the club, that is clear. Gillett has signalled his willingness to sell his 50% stake. These two should be treated as facts and not speculation.

The only grey area that remains revolves around the intentions of Hicks.

In recent weeks, the Dallas-based millionaire has insisted he has no intention of selling up. And he has done so again and again and again.

At face value, this could be taken to mean that Hicks is unwilling to listen to any offers for his stake and he would be well within his rights to maintain this stance.

But with every public utterance that he is not about to sell comes a nagging doubt that maybe, just maybe, he is protesting too much and is simply holding out for the highest possible price.

The problem is, DIC appear unwilling to dance to that particular tune, even if it is the one that Hicks is trying to play.

They have come up with an offer which they feel is more than fair for an asset which changed hands for £171m just 13 months ago and are unwilling to pay over the odds.

As this game of hardball is played out before our eyes - now with the added extra of a midnight deadline imposed by DIC - Liverpool fans would be entitled to ask how the hell their club has ended up in such a sorry state.

Much of their ire has been focused on Hicks and Gillett who are about as popular on the Kop as Gary Neville.

A series of fans protests has delivered the message that the two Americans are no longer wanted. But in recent weeks, there has also been a slight shift in emphasis among certain fans who want to know how the club came to be owned by Hicks and Gillett in the first place.

They want to know exactly why former chairman David Moores sanctioned the sale to the American duo ahead of DIC when the club was up for sale over a year ago.

And they feel he has a moral duty to explain himself to them.

So much so that fans protest group the Spirit of Shankly has invited Moores to address them at their next meeting at the Liverpool Olympia.

The problem is, Moores still has a position on the board at Anfield and has told close friends that although he realises he made a monumental blunder in selling to Hicks and Gillett he remains steadfastly against the washing of dirty linen in public.

In his eyes, such an act is not in the Liverpool way of doing things.

The problem is, Hicks would like nothing better than to remove Moores and chief executive Rick Parry from the board and unless DIC wins the day that is exactly what is likely to happen in the near future.

The only thing that has stopped this from happening already is the presence of Gillett and given the fact that, one way or another, he is not likely to be around for much longer, the positions of Moores and Parry are under major threat.

There is so much politics going on behind the scenes at Anfield that it is sometimes hard to believe that it is also home to a football club.

Marriages of convenience are being forged and the old mantra that "your enemy's enemy is your friend" may as well be the club motto.

Hicks and team manager Rafa Benitez have only one thing in common - a shared enmity of Gillett - and as such they have become the most unlikely of bed fellows recently, although even this relationship is being conducted at the safest of distances by e-mail.

Having told his manager to "shut up and get on with coaching" just a matter of months ago and having been in talks with Jurgen Klinsmann about the possibility of replacing Benitez, it takes some leap of faith and imagination to believe that Hicks has all of a sudden become the Spaniard's number one fan.

This is the backdrop against which today's news of a formal offer from DIC has been made.

Liverpool Football Club is in chaos and the only way it will be resolved is if the ownership issue is tackled once and for all.

The open secret has now been confirmed. Which way the situation now plays out will determine the future of Liverpool Football Club for years to come.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liver...0252-20555455/

[Rix007]

I thought Debbie was based in Dallas

Debbie did do Dallas but now she is wanking the mancs
Oops forgot that they do that nicely by themselves

[Pacman]

I hope to god DIC pull this off.

[sinbad]

DIC: NO TIMELINE ON REDS DEAL
Posted 04/03/08 08:01

Dubai International Capital have denied a "timeline" has been put on any offer for Liverpool.

The company's spokesperson Jehad Saleh refused to comment on reports DIC have tabled a £400million bid for the club.

However, Saleh insisted reports DIC had given Liverpool co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks a deadline of midnight on Tuesday night to accept an offer were not correct.

She said: "No figures have been (publicly) mentioned, and talks are ongoing. No timeline has been set on the talks."

DIC chief executive Sameer al-Ansari, a lifelong Liverpool fan, had earlier confirmed he is in talks with Gillett and Tom Hicks.

Saleh refused to confirm that Al-Ansari is currently speaking to both Gillett and Hicks, but revealed he was in Dubai.

Reports on Merseyside claimed the deadline had been imposed on Hicks and Gillett to accept the bid.

The offer would give the American businessmen a profit of £25million each on their investment in the club.

The reported bid follows confirmation from DIC, the investment arm of the Maktoum royal family, that talks had taken place between the various parties but were being held up by the valuation of the club by one of Hicks or Gillett.

"It's no secret that we have been in discussions with the current owners," said Al-Ansari.

"It's not easy because the owners are in dreamland about valuations at the moment."

Al-Ansari later clarified that one of the club's owners "had come out of dreamland", without giving further details.

Other reports indicate Hicks, who has insisted he is opposed to a sale, has been trying to raise the capital necessary to buy out his partner.

But Hicks has described such speculation as "premature".

The US tycoons are believed to have suffered a breakdown in their relationship since taking over Liverpool last year.

The offer was reportedly made to the pair by Amanda Staveley, a senior partner of London-based investment firm PCP and who represents DIC.

Only last week, Texan billionaire Hicks denied reports he had invited DIC to inspect the club's accounts in preparation for a takeover.

Frustrated by Hicks' stance, DIC turned their attention to Gillett, who is thought to be much keener on a sale.

However, neither of the co-owners is able to cut and run without the other's consent, a point Hicks was at pains to make last week when he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Not only am I not going to sell, my partner cannot sell without my approval."

Also, DIC are thought to want a controlling stake at Anfield, meaning they would need to convince Hicks to relinquish part of his 50% of the club as well as buying out Gillett.

It appears clear the main problem preventing a takeover is the price DIC are willing to pay.

It has been nowhere near the amount of money Hicks has been asking for - he would want to make a substantial sum out of selling the club.

Another hurdle to overcome is that the refinancing package announced on January 25 has loaded £105million of debt on to the club.

Of that, £60million is earmarked to kick-start the new stadium development plus £45million for future player transfers and to meet the club's working capital needs.

The takeover talk is being driven by the refinancing deal, believed to only last for 18 months, and so Hicks and Gillett are soon going to have to start renegotiating the debts.

Furthermore, they are shortly going to have to go back to the banks to ask for a further £300million in loans to finance the rest of the new stadium at Stanley Park.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3236464,00.html

[MattB]

Thats a first

This bit made me chuckle too:

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton didn't respond to a phone message.

Why the **** the press ever bother phoning him is beyond me

[kris90210]

I emailed Hicks earlier and got a suspiciously swift reply - it doesnt look like he is going to sell before midnight tonight anyway!

Mr. Rees

You do not have all of the information. The new stadium will insure Liverpool is the best club in the world.

Watch my actions.

YNWA

Tom Hicks

[Steve101]

Ironic isn't it, that the evening when the first DIC deal went tits up was when we played West Ham last season, and now, when we play them again, it's all up in the air again. funny old game aint it??