Friday 15 October 2010

NESV completes takeover of Liverpool – allegedly

  • 16 April: Club put up for sale by Hicks & Gillett
  • 4 October: Club receive two "excellent bids", one from NESV, one from Asia
  • 5 Oct: Hicks & Gillett seek to remove Purslow & Ayre from Liverpool board
  • 6 Oct: Board agrees to sell club to NESV for £300m
  • 8 Oct: Premier League clears NESV to continue with takeover
  • 12 Oct: Hicks & Gillett lawyers admit breach of RBS contracts by trying to sack board members
  • 13 Oct: High Court rules against Hicks & Gillett, allowing NESV sale
  • 13 Oct: Hicks and Gillett gain restraining order on the sale in Texas court
  • 14 Oct: High Court rules Hicks & Gillett injunction is ineffective
  • 14 Oct: New hearing begins in Dallas, adjourned until Friday
  • 15 Oct: Hicks and Gillett withdraw TRO, enabling NESV to confirm their £300m purchase of Liverpool Football Club 

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New England Sports Ventures have completed their £300m takeover of Liverpool. The owners of the Boston Red Sox have taken control of the club after Tom Hicks and George Gillett were defeated in their legal battle to stop the takeover.

John W Henry, the principal owner of NESV, appeared with the club's chairman, Martin Broughton, in the foyer of their lawyers, Slaughter & May, this afternoon. "I am proud and humbled," Henry said. "We have a lot of work to do, and I can't tell you how happy I am that [the deal] has been completed. We're here to win. We have a tradition of winning. We'll do whatever we need to do."

Henry said that he would not, as had been rumoured, be at Sunday's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. "I think it's better for our first experience with the supporters to be at home," he said.

Broughton, who confirmed that he would stay at the club on at least a temporary basis while Henry decides on his desired structure, said: "As any Liverpool fan knows, the worst way to win a match is in a penalty shoot-out. But the important thing is that we won. We've been confident that we'd get there. We always knew that we were doing the right thing and would get justice."

The purchase of Liverpool brings an end to Hicks and Gillett's three-and-a-half years at the club, but almost certainly not an end to the saga. Hicks and Gillett have promised to sue for £1bn in damages, claiming the sale to NESV was "illegal".

A statement from Hicks' and Gillett's New York representatives announced they were suing over "an extraordinary swindle" but appeared to accept that they will have to relinquish ownership of the club.

Steve Stodghill, the Texas lawyer representing the duo, said: "This outcome not only devalues the club but it also will result in long-term uncertainty for the fans, players and everyone who loves this sport because all legal recourses will be pursued. Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett pledged to pay the debt to RBS so that the club could avoid administration that was threatened by RBS. That offer was rejected.

"It is a tragic development that others will claim as a victory. This means it won't be resolved the way it should be resolved."

Hicks told the Associated Press that his attempts to block the club's sale, which he believes undervalues the club, were blocked by "the British establishment" in collusion with members of Liverpool's board. "This was a conspiracy of the British establishment and our own [club] employees," he said.