Re: LFC not yet sold to NESV (but we're getting there, maybe...)
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=41783.msg1197062#msg1197062 date=1287135973]
[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=41783.msg1197057#msg1197057 date=1287135797]
Haha.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-takeover-latest-Revealed-the-watertight-contract-of-sale-that-all-but-ensures-NESV-will-see-off-Tom-Hicks-Mill-Financial-and-Kenny-Huang-to-become-new-owners-article601061.html
Makes sense:
"John W Henry has a binding contract of sale with Liverpool.
And that is the crucial detail which should thwart late attempts by Tom Hicks to contrive a deal to sell to another buyer.
Yesterday, another day of drama and intrigue left the main shareholder of New England Sports Ventures proclaiming in the High Court in London that he was the “new owner†of the club.
And the Mirror understands NESV signed that contract of sale more than a week ago, with the completed deal merely subject to ratification by the High Court, which was given this week.
It seems the whole future of Liverpool Football Club has been decided by that piece of legalese. This morning, Hicks has been involved in complicated negotiations over a deal with a US Hedge Fund, who in turn have been talking to Chinese businessman Kenny Huang.
Hicks has been in talks with Mill Financial, the hedge fund who are owed £74million by George Gillett when the co-owner of Liverpool defaulted on loans to them.
Mill are understood to be prepared to put up the £240million required to pay off the debt owed by Hicks and Gillett to RBS, which would free them of obligations to the bank.
That, potentially, could clear the way for Mill to take controversial control of the club and pave the way for a sale to Huang, who has been lurking in the background trying to put together a deal to buy the Premier League club for some time now.
But NESV have made clear they have a watertight contract of sale already in place, and that ultimately should thwart Huang’s ambitious plans.
Henry, in a message on his twitter account offered a very pointed assessment of the situation. We have a binding contract. Will fight Mill Hicks Gillett attempt to keep club today. Their last desperate attempt to entrench their regime,†he tweeted.
What that means in layman’s terms is he believes he is already the owner of the club, and has been for more than a week now, after Liverpool’s board voted last week to accept his offer.
If he merely had an agreement in place to buy the club, and Hicks contrives to eventually sell to Huang, then he could sue for costs incurred in his failed bid.
But with a contract signed to owned the club it means he can sue any new owner for DAMAGES if that contract is broken – and those could potentially run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
That would be too big a risk for Mill Financial to take, and certainly for Huang to take.
The way Hicks is now trying to structure his counter deal this morning, would mean that Huang would effectively be left paying between £450-£500million for Liverpool, which is already above his valuation.
But potential damages could double or even treble that figure. And with Huang apparently backed by Chinese government money, he simply couldn’t take such a massive risk with sovereign funds.
Mill too, have an obligation to their investors to get the best possible deal, and knowingly entering into a deal with exposure to potential damages would simply not be tolerated under their articles.
There is one more significant factor that should prevent Hicks’ one final desperate roll of the dice this morning, as he scrambles around like a pantomime villain, intent on wringing more money out of his Liverpool investment.
Hicks himself must repay the loans to the RBS under his contract with them, and must therefore borrow the money from Mill Financial to do that.
But he must also get approval from his club’s board of directors to make the repayment, and the board are legally obliged to consider the impact of such an action on the club.
What they will have to take into account is that such a move would expose Liverpool Football Club to potentially hundreds of millions of pounds of damages, which could ruin the business.
And legally then, their fiduciary duty as directors of the club would seem to be to prevent the repayment of the loans to RBS by Hicks, and instead insist the deal with NESV goes ahead.
That should happen this afternoon, when a judge in Dallas is expected to lift a temporary restraining order placed on the directors by a Texas court, preventing NESV from assuming their duties as the new owners.
Judge Jim Jordan will rule at 1pm English time, and is expected to take an hour to consider lifting the order. Legal experts say he has not other option but to do so, and Henry will assume control at Anfield the moment after."
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Please, oh please let this be true.
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The whole article sounds like unsubstantiated speculative BS. The part about Huang is probably completely made up.
