Premier League News: A twist in the tale for Liverpool FC as Peter Lim jumps in with a new bid
The Liverpool sale saga takes a new twist as a new bid flies in to increase the confusion in an already twisted matter.
A Singapore billionaire by the name of Peter Lim has jumped in with a bid of 230 million pounds to buy Liverpool Football Club and all its liabilities.
The offer obviously trumps the offer made by the New England Sports Ventures which stood at 300 million pounds and was accepted by the Liverpool Board of Directors by a split decision and the matter was taken to the court, and
just today, as the court hearing began, Liverpool FC have a twist in the tale.
It is also understood that Peter Lim is also offering cash of around 40 million pounds to be invested on new players, which makes the offer even more difficult to ignore and this has raised more uncertainty about the fate of the
club sale.
Mr Lim said: "I respect and admire Liverpool Football Club which is steeped in tradition and history. I am committed to rebuild the club so that it can soon regain its position at the pinnacle of English and European football,
where it truly belongs.”
The new offer coincides with the start of the case’s hearing in the court where the power struggle at the top echelon will be decided.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is the bank that had loaned the money to Tom Hicks and George Gillett when the club was bought back in 2007, and now the RBS is seeking a court order that can prevent Hicks and Gillett from removing Ian
Ayre and Christian Purslow from the Liverpool board of directors.
The solicitor for Royal Bank of Scotland, Philip Swindon has said in the court that Hicks and Gillett were in breach of contract and were also guilty of breathtaking arrogance in trying to stall the matter of the club’s sale.
While Phillip’s counterpart Paul Girolami, who is representing the Hicks and Gillett regime, said that his clients were not trying to block the sale but they just did not see it beneficial for the club.
He also reiterated that there were some other offers for the club as well other than NSEV which were more beneficial for the club, but the board of directors just did not look at the options.
It was only revealed in court that there was also a bid from American hedge fund Mill Financial, with a promise of 100 million to be made available for a new stadium right away but the board of directors did not see that.
It was Mill Financial that had also previously helped support a refinancing deal for the loan used by George Gillett, and after Gillett failed to live up to the terms of that refinancing deal the hedge funds took ownership of 50%
shares of Gillett’s stake.
Peter Lim has also had a previous bid for Liverpool FC rejected in favour of the New England Sports Ventures but Lim’s estimated net worth is said to be around 1.6 billion USD as opposed to 934 million USD of NSEV, according to
Forbes Magazine.
Mr Lim’s major businesses are fashion, agricultural business and logistics, and his only interest in football is the ownership of several Manchester United themed bars in Asia, and that is perhaps the only thing that has convinced
the businessman that there exists a huge potential for money-making in top flight English football.
It is also reported in some circles that he will sell his Manchester United bars if he secures the ownership of United’s archrivals, Liverpool FC.
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