Liverpool Club Said to Be in Default; Court Considers Ownership
Liverpool Said to Be in Technical Default
Frantzesco Kangaris/Bloomberg
The club emblem is displayed on a wall at Anfield, Liverpool Football Club's stadium.
The club emblem is displayed on a wall at Anfield, Liverpool Football Club's stadium. Photographer: Frantzesco Kangaris/Bloomberg
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Liverpool’s board agreed to sell England’s most successful soccer club to John W. Henry’s Boston Red Sox holding company over the objections of owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who vowed to resist an offer they said is too low. Bloomberg's Deirdre Bolton reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc asked a London judge to reverse changes to Liverpool’s board that could block the soccer club’s planned sale to New England Sports Ventures LLC for 300 million pounds ($474 million).
Owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have sought to halt the sale of Britain’s most successful team, saying the price is too low. Fans have protested their ownership and RBS says the Americans breached their contract when they tried to replace Chairman Martin Broughton and other independent board members who approved the sale.
The case “concerns what is an admitted breach of contract by Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett” done to “frustrate the sale process,” RBS lawyer Richard Snowden said at the High Court in London today.
The move showed “breathtaking arrogance,” he said.
RBS, which required Hicks and Gillett to add independent board members when they last refinanced debt, is the applicant in the suit. The men may lose about 140 million pounds if the deal goes through, Broughton has said.
RBS, based in Edinburgh, wants the court to issue an injunction forcing Hicks and Gillett to abide by the contract and restore a “clearly functioning” board that can act in the best interest of creditors, Snowden said.
NESV is controlled by Boston Red Sox owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner. Liverpool’s board, which has approved the sale, is seeking court confirmation of the deal’s validity.
To contact the reporters on this story: James Lumley in London at jlumley1@bloomberg.net; Tariq Panja in London at at tpanja@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at at celser@bloomberg.net; Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net.
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