From the Guardian.....
Liverpool move step closer to takeover by Maktoums
Dominic Fifield
Monday December 4, 2006
The Guardian
Liverpool are on the verge of a new era after the chairman and majority shareholder, David Moores, granted Dubai International Capital permission to undertake due diligence in anticipation of a £450m takeover of the Anfield club.
Moores and his chief executive, Rick Parry, have granted DIC, a company owned by Dubai's ruling Maktoum family, the exclusive right to study the club's books despite rival propositions drawn up by, among others, the US businessman George Gillett Jr - formerly owner of the Harlem Globetrotters - and the Belfast-based construction tycoon John Miskelly.
Article continues
Although the finer details of any deal with DIC will only become clear once due diligence has been carried out, it is understood that Moores has agreed to drop his initial valuation of the club to about £170m. That will see him accept about £4,500 a share - rather than £6,000 - with his majority 51% stake to be diluted.
The Moores family has been involved with Liverpool since the 1950s and, rather than sever ties completely, Liverpool's chairman of 15 years is expected to be given an honorary role under the new regime. Parry may remain as chief executive, particularly given his heavy involvement in attempting to move the club to a new stadium in Stanley Park. Neither chairman nor chief executive will be on the flight to Istanbul today for the Champions League tie against Galatasaray.
No formal announcement of a takeover is anticipated before Christmas but Liverpool's three-year search for new money appears to be drawing to a successful conclusion. In that time they have courted potential investment from parties as diverse as the Kraft family and Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand.
DIC's chief executive, Samir al-Ansari, claims to be a supporter of the club but the company, although it has independent status, is ultimately owned by the Maktoums. They are willing to fund the £200m construction of a 60,000-seat stadium and will cover the club's long-term debts - about £80m - but it remains to be seen whether Rafael Benítez will benefit in the January transfer market.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_...963261,00.html
Independent.
Dubai takeover on cards at Anfield
By Andy Hunter
Published: 04 December 2006
Liverpool's search for fresh investment, a three-year process that has unearthed interest in Thailand, America, Ireland, Spain and Scandinavia, appears to have secured a buyer. Dubai International Capital, the international investment arm of the Dubai government, is prepared to pay £450m for majority control of the Anfield club.
The Liverpool board has allowed DIC to commence a period of due diligence this week, which gives the company exclusive rights to assess the club's books and prevents any rival parties making a bid. The company outlined its intent in several meetings with the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, and agreed to the chairman, David Moores, staying as a director.
How a deal would affect Rafael Benitez's transfer budget, which the manager says must be increased to let the club compete with Chelsea and Manchester United, remains to be seen.
United, Chelsea, West Ham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth have come under foreign ownership in the past four years. The Liverpool deal would see billionaires from the Maktoum family which rules Dubai pay £200m towards the construction of a new 60,000-seater stadium and around £170m for majority control of the club. The buyers would also take on £80m of debt. The decision to meet Moores' asking price and allow the chairman to keep a reduced shareholding, maintaining his family's 50-year connection with Liverpool, has been instrumental in the success of the negotiations thus far.
Liverpool have rejected a similar offer from the American multimillionaire George Gillett Jnr and interest from three rival parties to allow DIC's interest to develop. Club officials, including Moores and Parry, who is expected to keep his job, will continue talks this week instead of travelling to Istanbul for the Champions' League meeting with Galatasaray.
The investment, which could bring Liverpool into conflict with Fifa, football's world governing body, which is keen to instil greater transparency in club ownership, should be completed early in the new year, provided no unforeseen problems materialise.
http://sport.independent.co.uk/footb...cle2037452.ece
Liverpool move step closer to takeover by Maktoums
Dominic Fifield
Monday December 4, 2006
The Guardian
Liverpool are on the verge of a new era after the chairman and majority shareholder, David Moores, granted Dubai International Capital permission to undertake due diligence in anticipation of a £450m takeover of the Anfield club.
Moores and his chief executive, Rick Parry, have granted DIC, a company owned by Dubai's ruling Maktoum family, the exclusive right to study the club's books despite rival propositions drawn up by, among others, the US businessman George Gillett Jr - formerly owner of the Harlem Globetrotters - and the Belfast-based construction tycoon John Miskelly.
Article continues
Although the finer details of any deal with DIC will only become clear once due diligence has been carried out, it is understood that Moores has agreed to drop his initial valuation of the club to about £170m. That will see him accept about £4,500 a share - rather than £6,000 - with his majority 51% stake to be diluted.
The Moores family has been involved with Liverpool since the 1950s and, rather than sever ties completely, Liverpool's chairman of 15 years is expected to be given an honorary role under the new regime. Parry may remain as chief executive, particularly given his heavy involvement in attempting to move the club to a new stadium in Stanley Park. Neither chairman nor chief executive will be on the flight to Istanbul today for the Champions League tie against Galatasaray.
No formal announcement of a takeover is anticipated before Christmas but Liverpool's three-year search for new money appears to be drawing to a successful conclusion. In that time they have courted potential investment from parties as diverse as the Kraft family and Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand.
DIC's chief executive, Samir al-Ansari, claims to be a supporter of the club but the company, although it has independent status, is ultimately owned by the Maktoums. They are willing to fund the £200m construction of a 60,000-seat stadium and will cover the club's long-term debts - about £80m - but it remains to be seen whether Rafael Benítez will benefit in the January transfer market.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_...963261,00.html
Independent.
Dubai takeover on cards at Anfield
By Andy Hunter
Published: 04 December 2006
Liverpool's search for fresh investment, a three-year process that has unearthed interest in Thailand, America, Ireland, Spain and Scandinavia, appears to have secured a buyer. Dubai International Capital, the international investment arm of the Dubai government, is prepared to pay £450m for majority control of the Anfield club.
The Liverpool board has allowed DIC to commence a period of due diligence this week, which gives the company exclusive rights to assess the club's books and prevents any rival parties making a bid. The company outlined its intent in several meetings with the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, and agreed to the chairman, David Moores, staying as a director.
How a deal would affect Rafael Benitez's transfer budget, which the manager says must be increased to let the club compete with Chelsea and Manchester United, remains to be seen.
United, Chelsea, West Ham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth have come under foreign ownership in the past four years. The Liverpool deal would see billionaires from the Maktoum family which rules Dubai pay £200m towards the construction of a new 60,000-seater stadium and around £170m for majority control of the club. The buyers would also take on £80m of debt. The decision to meet Moores' asking price and allow the chairman to keep a reduced shareholding, maintaining his family's 50-year connection with Liverpool, has been instrumental in the success of the negotiations thus far.
Liverpool have rejected a similar offer from the American multimillionaire George Gillett Jnr and interest from three rival parties to allow DIC's interest to develop. Club officials, including Moores and Parry, who is expected to keep his job, will continue talks this week instead of travelling to Istanbul for the Champions' League meeting with Galatasaray.
The investment, which could bring Liverpool into conflict with Fifa, football's world governing body, which is keen to instil greater transparency in club ownership, should be completed early in the new year, provided no unforeseen problems materialise.
http://sport.independent.co.uk/footb...cle2037452.ece
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