SEPTEMBER 30
Gillett rubbishes F6 takeover talk

TEAMtalk

Liverpool co-owner George Gillett insists the club have not spoken to Saudi sports investment company F6 about a takeover - and do not plan to.

Widespread reports suggested Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud's F6 investment vehicle had been given the go-ahead to carry out exclusive due diligence with a view to buying into the clb.

However, Gillett insisted the future ownership of the club was not on the agenda at his meeting with the Price, while F6 director Barry Didato confirmed the due diligence process taking place relates to other commercial opportunities and "does not involve the possibility of an immediate investment in Liverpool", with any possible transaction being "several months away".

Gillett said: "We had a marvellous meeting with them on Saturday and they were impressed with the club, but the academies in Saudi Arabia and North Africa and their possible involvement in NASCAR-type racing in the Middle East were the only items on the agenda.

"We have entered into a period of exclusive discussions regarding the possibility of introducing NASCAR-type racing to the Middle East, but the memorandum of understanding does not cover anything else."

Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks confirmed on Tuesday that they had "retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Rothschild to evaluate the possibility of new investors injecting equity into Liverpool FC".

A joint statement added: "The process is at an early stage, there is no agreement with any party and reports to the contrary are wholly inaccurate."

Didato, F6's director of strategic investment, said that the agreement signed at the weekend focused on the creation of football academies in Saudi Arabia and North Africa as well as an opportunity in stock car racing, while the prospects of a possible investment in Liverpool lagged behind the first two projects as a "distant third".

Didato said: "As far as investment in Liverpool is concerned, that would be a long way off. A lot of people have jumped the gun and any possible investment would be several months away.

"The agreement signed (at the weekend) leaves the door open for it (possible future investment in Liverpool), but that was certainly not the focus of it."

Didato added that no talks have been staged between F6 and Hicks, who, like Gillett, owns 50 per cent of Liverpool.

"George has a partner there and has his own issues to work through," Didato added. "Mr Hicks will also have his own issues and we are not sure what he wants to do.

"Another issue is the club's debt (of around £245million). Prince Faisal will not put forward investment capital to just clean up a balance sheet. He would only want to use money to take the club forward. It would be long-term money."

Didato said that Prince Faisal would have an open mind regarding the ultimate stake he could hold in the club.

"His Highness is open to anything and is open to being a minority shareholder, but he has tremendous favourability towards the brand and institution of Liverpool," Didato added.

"His Highness would need to be invited by George and it would have to be at the right time for George. There would need to be a shared vision between all of the parties."

Gillett recently agreed to sell the Montreal Canadiens National Hockey League ice hockey team for a reported $575million, but he insisted that transaction had nothing to do with any developments regarding the rest of his sporting portfolio, which includes the Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR team as well as Liverpool.

Gillett also said that the Canadiens, arguably the most famous team in NHL history, were in safe hands under the new owners, the Molson family, who agreed to the takeover earlier this month.

"It was with great reluctance that I decided to sell the Canadiens," Gillett added. "It is a fabulous club and I have been very fortunate to have had more than one love affair in sport.

"They (the Molson family) have a relationship with the club that goes back 50 years, and that's awfully important. They are young and enthusiastic and will bring great energy to the Canadiens.

"They will also bring passion, new ideas and a fresh perspective, which is always good."

SEPTEMBER 29
Hicks and Gillett looking
for outside investors

Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have confirmed they are looking for investment in the club.

Following the appearance of Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud in the stands with the Americans at the weekend, the pair released a statement confirming they had retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Rothschild to evaluate the possibility of an outside injection of equity into the club.

It added: "However the process is at an early stage, there is no agreement with any party."

Sports investment firm F6, chaired by the prince, had previously claimed an exclusivity deal with Gillett , and that he was in talks to buy his 50% stake.

Hicks is looking to raise £100m from investors in return for a 25% stake in a bid to turn around the club's debt.

SEPTEMBER 28
Saudi group confirm Liverpool link

The Irish Times

Saudi Arabian sports investment company F6 have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Liverpool to establish a number of football academies in the region, while chairman Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdulla Al Saud also reiterated his desire to buy a 50 per cent stake in the club.

The deal signed with Reds co-owner George Gillett will seek to set up two exclusive academies in Saudi Arabia and two in North Africa while also extending the interests of the American's NASCAR franchise Richard Petty Motorsports.

"The memorandum of understanding with George Gillett group will establish an exclusive partnership between F6 group, Liverpool FC and Richard Petty Motorsports team," a statement released by the company read.

"His Highness Prince Faisal stated that the partnership with George Gillett's group will be a good addition to F6. This partnership will provide a lot of investments in football, racing and sports media in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East."

Prince Faisal confirmed the deals were done following Liverpool's 6-1 defeat of Hull City at Anfield on Saturday, a game he attended as a guest of the club.

"We have signed several contracts with Liverpool after visiting the club and attending the match with Hull City in the Premier League," he told Al Riyadh daily newspaper.

"The contracts are basically sports investments, which also include establishing football academies that will definitely help the future of Saudi sports in the future.

"We will make two academies in Saudi Arabia and two in North Africa."

Prince Faisal also claimed he is closing in on a 50 per cent share of Liverpool for a price of between €217m and €380m.

"At the moment we are looking forward to acquiring 50 per cent of the club's stake," said the Prince, who is also an honorary member of Saudi football giants Al Hilal.

"The deal will be concluded soon and its value will be between €217m and €380m.

"If we finalise the deal, it will be something marvellous because Liverpool is one of the best and most famous clubs in England and the whole world."

If the Saudi prince does indeed manage to acquire half the club, it will undoubtedly bolster manager Rafael Benitez's spending power during the January transfer window.

SEPTEMBER 28
Liverpool buy-out reports dismissed
by sources close to Hicks

By Rory Smith - Telegraph.co.uk/Irish Independent

Sources close to Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks have played down reports that Saudi prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdullah al-Saud is close to securing a 50 per cent stake in the club.

The prince watched Liverpool's 6-1 win over Hull as a guest of Hicks's partner, George Gillett, and met the Colorado-based businessman and the club's managing director, Christian Purslow, after the game.

While sources close to Gillett insisted the prince's visit was linked to a scheme to set up club-branded academies in the Middle East, the prince himself told Saudi television he was "close" to buying a stake worth "between 25 and 50 per cent" of the club.

It was suggested that Gillett was courting the prince in an attempt to convince him to buy out Hicks's stake, but such a suggestion has been dismissed by several sources close to Hicks.

Prince Faisal, the chief executive of the F6 Sports company which boasts a portfolio of investments in Saudi Arabia, has visited Anfield several times as a guest of Gillett and, while the co-owner's presence at a low-profile game is out of character, it is believed no investment is imminent.

The two Americans have endured a difficult relationship since first buying Liverpool in 2007 and both have recently made overtures in the Middle East with a view to securing outside funding, Gillett through Rothschilds and Hicks through Merrill Lynch.

Gillett is in the stronger financial position of the two, having sold the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey franchise this summer for €326 million, but Hicks is adamant he will not cede control of the club, despite continued unrest among the fans.

It is believed he is prepared, though, to sell a quarter of the club to secure the funding required to restart building work on Liverpool's long-mooted new stadium on Stanley Park.

SEPTEMBER 28
Could Saudi prince be answer to
Liverpool FC's investment problems?

By Luke Traynor - Liverpool Echo

Liverpool FC co-owner George Gillett faced protests from angry fans as he made a rare trip to the city over the weekend.

Supporters from Reds’ union Spirit of Shankly (SOS) gave the US businessman a hostile reception as he visited training ground Melwood, the LFC academy and Anfield.

Gillett was at Anfield to watch the Reds 6-1 drubbing of Hull on Saturday.

And he was accompanied by a Saudi billionaire.

Prince Faisal bin Fahad Bin Abdullah al Saud, who owns Sports Investment company F6, was pictured sitting alongside Gillett in the directors’ box.

Their appearance sparked reports the Prince and Liverpool were on the verge of a massive deal that could see the Saudi take control of up to 50% of club shares in return for investment ranging from £200m to £350m.

But sources claimed talk of the wealthy Saudi ploughing cash into the Reds was not on the agenda.

Instead it was suggested Gillett invited Faisal in a bid to rubberstamp plans to set up Liverpool FC academies in the Middle East.

Anfield bosses stressed privately talk of high-level investment and selling of club shares was wide of the mark.

According to Liverpool sources matters of sponsorship and global branding were uppermost in the businessmen’s minds.

Asked directly about speculation involving possible Saudi investment, a spokesman for the owners declined to comment.

Relations between co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett who have had several major fall-outs since they took over in February 2007, are said to be more cordial than they were 18 months ago.

And sources insisted the meeting between Gillett and the Prince was arranged with Hicks’s backing.

Over the weekend Saudi-based Al-Riyadh newspaper quoted Al Faisal as having said: “We are currently seeking to buy 50% of the shares in the club {Liverpool} which is now suffering debts worth £245m.

“The transaction, upon which a decision is close to being reached, will be worth £200m to £350m.”

On Saturday Prince Faisal, flanked by bodyguards, was given a tour of Melwood and the academy facilities in Kirkby where he was greeted by demonstrating fans.

One member of Spirit of Shankly asked to speak to Gillett about the club’s finances and was granted a one-on-one meeting with the American owner.

SOS’s Paul Rice told the ECHO: “He came out with all the usual lines about why the stadium wasn’t being built yet because of the credit crunch.

“He said again how Liverpool was in a better state than most of its rivals and the budget available to manager Rafa Benitez was acceptable.

“Amazingly he said it wasn’t him who promised the ‘spade would be in the ground within 60 days’, when they discussed the stadium at that first press conference.

“He said Hicks had said that.

“If it’s correct that Rafa has just £20m to spend each year it was ironic to see Gillett jumping up and down after Torres scored his three goals.

“Under that regime he wouldn’t be able to buy a player like him as he would simply cost too much.”

Up to 200 supporters assembled around the directors entrance at the Main Stand on Saturday to protest.

SOS also alleged that some fans were threatened with eviction from Anfield by stewards if anti-Gillett and Hicks banners were not taken down.

A SOS spokesman said: “We will be seeking clarification on this matter.”

SEPTEMBER 27
Saudi prince set to invest

Sky Sports

A Saudi prince has revealed that he is set to make a significant investment in an English club.

Reports suggest that the side in question is Premier League giants Liverpool, who are currently experiencing financial difficulties under the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

It is believed that the American duo are prepared to sell a 50 per cent stake to Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah in order to help balance the books at Anfield.

"We are currently seeking to buy 50 per cent of the shares in the club which is now suffering with debts worth £245million," Fahd bin Abdullah, who chairs private firm F6 and a Saudi-based holding firm called Fama Group, was quoted as saying in Al-Riyadh.

"The transaction, upon which a decision is close to be reached, will be worth 200 to 350million pounds."

A spokesman for Fama has declined to comment on the matter, but it appears that the Premier League could be set to welcome further money from the Middle East.

Manchester City were acquired by the Abu Dhabi United Group last summer and have benefitted considerably from that deal.

SEPTEMBER 16
Hicks: No City-style
spree for Reds

TEAMtalk

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks insists the Reds will never embark on an "unsustainable" spending spree such as that conducted by Manchester City.

Hicks has also revealed Liverpool expect to rake in £26million plus on sponsorship revenue in a year, and that will include a new deal with Carlsberg.

Carlsberg's shirt sponsorship deal with Liverpool will end next year after 17 years, and it has been taken over by Standard Chartered - who have agreed a four-year contract worth around £80million.

Carlsberg declined to match the offer, but it now seems they will continue their involvement with the Anfield club on a scaled-down format.

Hicks told The Times: "You have to look 'cash flow' rather than accounting - and we intend to operate Liverpool where it has a very strong positive cash flow, so we have the resources to be as competitive as possible on the pitch.

"That's our commitment.

"We had strong, positive cash flows last year. Our debt levels are at a very comfortable level, and we are going to continue bringing it down.

"Our goal is to have less debt than any of the top clubs, and that's a commitment we have made and will continue to make."

Hicks is dubious about City's huge outlay on signings, which has been made possible over the past year by the the vast wealth of their Abu Dhabi owners.

He said: "It's not sustainable at City. They won't continue to invest like that, because it doesn't make good economic sense.

"They will make the improvements they need to make and then run it more like a business. The smart clubs operate for the long term, and you have to look at who have had success for many years."

Liverpool's negotiations with Carlsberg is part of that long-term strategy.

"We have an existing contract with Carlsberg until the end of the season," Hicks confirmed.

"Between now and then, we will finalise new arrangements where we will retain the Carlsberg special sponsorship packages and pour Carlsberg products in the stadium. They will be one of our key sponsors, just not on our shirts."

Hicks believes Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will want some of the new money for January's transfer window.

Hicks said: "Knowing Rafa Benitez, I suspect he's got his eye on part of it.

"As we build our revenues, it gives ability to be more competitive on the pitch.

"Everybody involved with Liverpool wants to win the Premier League - it's been too many years and it's our goal.

"I've been in sport for 15 years, and sometimes you have to do things to get the players' attention to wake up and really get focused."

JULY 29
Fans still hope to buy Liverpool

BBC Sport Online

ShareLiverpoolFC founder Rogan Taylor has not given up hope of buying Liverpool in a joint venture with fans' group the Spirit of Shankly.

Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett received a 12-month extension on £350m worth of bank loans secured against the club last week.

But Taylor told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It's another season and it will have to be restructured again.

"It costs you a lot of money when banks do this for you."

Taylor, a football academic at the University of Liverpool, is not convinced the renegotiation of debt between the American owners, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia is a good thing.

"Debt is being added to debt and that's a deeply depressing situation for Liverpool fans," said Taylor.

Taylor believes the concept of ShareLiverpoolFC, where fans would pay £500 for one share and run the club along the lines of FC Barcelona, is a viable alternative.

"The ShareLiverpoolFC - Spirit of Shankly proposal offers an opportunity to get the club on a firm basis.

"If the club was considerably less in debt and had a firm, long-term basis for paying back what debt there was in it, borrowing the money to build the stadium wouldn't be a particularly difficult issue."

Taylor's initial proposal sought Liverpool fans willing to pay £5,000 for a single share, which has since been reduced to 10% of that figure.

Questions have been raised about the viability of a fans' takeover on such a large scale but despite the doubters, Taylor is adamant it can be done.

"It's a one-off piece of Liverpool FC through ShareLiverpoolFC," he said.

"Nobody will ever own more of it than you do, now that's got intrinsic value hasn't it?

"Because these are not simple issues it's sometimes difficult for people to grasp," said Taylor.

JULY 27
Liverpool owners agree to repay £40m
of debt as part of refinancing package

By Paul Kelso - The Daily Telegraph

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will this week repay £40 million of outstanding debt as a condition of a refinancing package agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia over the weekend.

Telegraph Sport understands that the details of the package have been agreed, with the American owners agreeing to repay £60 million of the outstanding loans as part of a deal with the banks that will ultimately reduce the debt to £230 million. The first tranche is expected to be repaid this week, with the remaining £20 million due later in the year.

In January last year Hicks and Gillett had agreed a £350 million loan with the banks that according to the most recent club accounts was due to expire on Friday. Sources with knowledge of the deal told Telegraph Sport that the £350 million figure has already been reduced to £290 million since last summer, and will come down by a further £60 million as a condition of the new deal.

Portsmouth sold Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe to balance booksThe banks, negotiating with club managing director Christian Purslow, are understood to have demanded the repayment as a condition of extending a loan facility that is fundamental to the club's future as a going concern.

In the most recent accounts for the club and its holding company Kop Football Ltd, auditor KPMG warned that there was "significant doubt" that the club would remain a going concern if refinancing was not secured.

Kop Football made a loss of £42.6 million in the year to July 2008, £36.5 million of which was interest payments on the £350 million loan. By paying off £120 million of the outstanding debt the American's should have reduced their annual interest payments, but the banks may also have demanded a higher rate to extend their line of credit.

It remains unclear how the repayments will be distributed, how the American owners raised the capital required to reduce their exposure or what other guarantees they have provided. Under the original RBS deal they had guaranteed £185 million between them.

Both owners face significant challenges as a result of the financial crisis and Hicks is seeking investors in both of his US sports franchises.

Gillett recently sold ice-hockey team the Montreal Canadiens for more than £300 million, and may have used some of this windfall. Sources with knowledge of the deal said the pair's 50-50 ownership remained unaffected by the latest refinancing.

The original £350 million financing package was split between the football club, which was legally accountable for £105 million, and the holding company, against which the remaining £245 million was secured. The bulk of this was used to repay the acquisition loan taken out by the owners to buy the club.

Supporters' groups will want to see the debt directly relating to the club, which includes a significant amount of transfer spending, reduced. Two such groups, Share Liverpool and Spirit of Shankly, announced proposals for a supporter-led buy out of the American's last week.

News that the refinancing package has been agreed will frustrate those plans for now, but resentment at the debt burden, albeit reduced, is likely to remain.

JULY 24
Reds fans make revised proposal

TEAMtalk

Supporters' groups ShareLiverpoolFC and Spirit of Shankly have unveiled a revised buy-out proposal.

The fans' organisations are unhappy with the financial structuring of Liverpool and are behind a proposal for supporters to take ownership of the club in a similar scheme to those operated by Barcelona, Real Madrid and other European clubs.

The key change to the group's original proposal is the reduction of the share price from £5,000 to £500. Initially they hoped to raise £500million from 100,000 fans each paying the £5,000 'entry fee'.

The aim is to acquire a 60% stake in the club by raising £150million while seeking a "commercial partner" to invest £100million for a 40% stake.

A detailed summary of the proposal can be viewed at www.shareliverpoolfc.com.

A statement from the SLFC board said: "This is a realistic plan that squares the circle: How to get broadly based fan ownership of the club, and relieve the level of debt, by offering Liverpool fans an affordable entry fee and a chance to get a modest return for their additional financial support.

"Now we need all those Liverpool fans to carefully consider the proposals in detail on our website - and let us know what they think."

JUNE 26
Bankers: Reds are
not in bad shape

TEAMtalk

Bankers have dismissed fears about Liverpool's future by stressing the club are "financially healthy and able to service comfortably its debt".

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are currently in negotiations to refinance the £350million loan they took out to buy the Reds two years ago, with less than a month to go until the deadline for an agreement.

A deal is believed to be close and despite speculation about potential financial meltdown at Anfield RBS, who have taken the unprecedented step of writing to fans to explain the situation, are happy to give their full support to the Merseysiders.

According to the Liverpool Daily Post, the bank has stressed they have a "long-term relationship with the club, and we look forward to this continuing for many years to come".

"In our view and that of the executive management of the club, it is financially healthy and able to service comfortably its debt obligations from cash flow generated by its playing and commercial activities.

"It is in our commercial interest to support the club . . . so that it can continue to perform successfully on and off the pitch."

Hicks and Gillett currently pay around £35million a year in interest on their loan and recently auditors KPMG went public with their concern over the level of debt being incurred by Kop Football Holdings, Liverpool's parent company, after it posted losses of £42.6million in the year ending July 2008.

That was in contrast to the football club business itself, which made a profit of £10.2million.

The bank have dismissed concerns about the potential fragility of Liverpool's finances, stressing there is a clear dividing line between what the club owes them and what debt Hicks and Gillett have taken on.

"RBS is the main banker to the club including all of its operating accounts, cash management, online banking, automated payments, and credit card processing to facilitate ticket sales and retail merchandising," stated the email, according to the Daily Post.

"We also lent money to the club's parent, Kop Football Limited, so that it could repay debt which was on the balance sheet of the club at the time of its acquisition by George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

"This is the only portion of Kop Football's bank debt for which the club is legally responsible.

"We took great care when making our original loan in early 2007 and when refinancing it last January to distinguish between obligations of the club, primarily those outlined above, and obligations of its parent company, the latter being secured by personal guarantees and collateral from the owners and a pledge of the shares they own in the club."

Gillett has already struck a deal to sell ice hockey team the Montreal Canadiens for around £330million.

It is expected he will use some of the proceeds from that as a personal guarantee, which will help in the refinancing negotiations as RBS and Wachovia, the other bank involved, are likely to ask for more stringent conditions.

Hicks is also trying to realise more capital by offloading about half of his 95% stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team, which could raise around £125million.

JUNE 26
Robert Kraft: I wanted
to buy Liverpool

By David Prentice - Liverpool Daily Post

American billionaire Robert Kraft has admitted he would buy Liverpool Football Club “in a minute” – but only if a salary cap was placed on the English Premier League.

The US businessman also claimed that he came “very close” to buying Liverpool in 2005, but was ultimately put off by the absence of a cap on players’ wages.

Kraft, whose family own the NFL’s New England Patriots and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution, also had concerns about the need for a new stadium but said that would not have stopped him from going ahead with the deal.

Kraft is on the USA’s top 300 rich list. He owns mills, manufactures and distributes paper and packages products in 80 countries.

He says he is fond of Liverpool, noting that the Revolution’s coach, Steve Nicol, used to play there and praised the club’s fans for their loyalty and passion.

He added, however, that they were not the only club he would consider investing in if a cap were in place.

“I wanted to take over Liverpool,” said Kraft. “I met with [the then chairman] David Moores, who is a fine gentleman, and we came very close to buying it, very close.

“But in the end my instinct was – without a salary cap, or a stadium... I wasn’t sure how we’d get a stadium built quickly and efficiently.

“But the more important issue was the salary cap.

“If the salary cap was there, we would have done it.”

Kraft has experience of building sporting arenas, having overseen construction of the 68,000-seat Gillette Stadium in New England in 2000, but hinted that he was less comfortable with the prospect of trying to make a team profitable in an environment where wages and transfer fees continue to rise unchecked in an economic downturn.

Attending Wimbledon this week for the 35th consecutive year, Kraft also said: “If the salary cap came here, I would buy a team in a minute because we think we know how to run a sports franchise.

“We have stuff sent to us all the time, but I think deep down, until there was some kind of salary cap structure I couldn’t go ahead with it… unless there was a great business steal.”

JUNE 21
Gillett sells Canadiens

Football 365

Liverpool owner George Gillett has agreed to sell the NHL's Montreal Canadiens to the Molson family in a deal that could help lift the financial cloud over the Barclays Premier League club.

The deal to sell the NHL's most successful ever team is worth a reported US dollars 550 million (£330 million).

Gillett put the Canadiens up for sale earlier this year as he scrambles to find funds to meet obligations on debt incurred as part of his takeover of Liverpool in partnership with Tom Hicks.

The sale includes Gillett's 80% stake in the team, the Bell Centre arena, and the Gillett Entertainment Group. Brewing moguls the Molsons, who sold the controlling interest in the team to Gillett for around USD275 million (£165 million) in 2001, already own the remaining 20% share.

"This is a very exciting time for our family and we are grateful to the many people and organisations who came forward to offer their collaboration in the development of our proposal," Geoff Molson said in a statement on Sunday.

The sale must first be approved by the NHL's Board of Governors, and will likely not be completed for several more weeks.

The NHL's approval of the sale would, however, seemingly be only a matter of course.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman responded positively to the news of the deal, saying: "I think to the extent that they've been able to find people who are obviously passionate about the game and structure a transaction that makes sense for everybody, that's a real plus for the franchise and the fans in Montreal."

News of the deal comes a little over two weeks after Liverpool's accountants warned of "significant doubt" over the club's parent company's ability to continue as a going concern with debt repayments due on July 24.

The company formed by Gillett and Hicks suffered a loss of £42.6 million (USD70.5 million) last year, largely on interest repayments. The pair took out a loan of £350 million (USD580 million) when they bought the club in 2007.

While Hicks and Gillett have been seeking other investors for Liverpool, they have so far come back empty-handed, meaning funds from a sale of the Canadiens could be needed to help cover upcoming payments.

Hicks has also been seeking to sell off elements of his own sporting empire - which includes Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers and the NHL's Dallas Stars.

Hicks' situation is further complicated as the Hicks Sports Group in April defaulted on a £325 million loan (USD 525million) relating to the Rangers and Stars.

The Canadiens, who are celebrating their centenary year, are the oldest continually run professional ice hockey team in North America. Their 24 Stanley Cup titles are the most in the NHL.

"Our family has been very proud to be associated with the Montreal Canadiens over the past eight years and particularly to be a part of their Centennial Season," Gillet said after confirming the deal.

"I am fully confident that the Molson brothers, who have been a great part of the heritage of the club, will ensure the preservation and development of this great sports institution."

The Molson family first bought the team in 1978, although their involvement dates back to the 1950s.

JUNE 19
David Moores’ heart will never
leave the club he loves

Analysis by John Thompson - Liverpool Echo

The decision by former Liverpool chairman David Moores to quit the Anfield boardroom is clearly significant. But it is not
a surprise.

From the moment in February 2007 when he signed the documents which handed ownership to Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Littlewoods heir and lifelong Liverpool fanatic Moores had hoped to play a continuing role working in harmony with the Americans.

But the honeymoon for everyone at Anfield lasted barely a few months – and it was soon clear a smooth transition, with the old regime nursing along and guiding the modernising and affluent new, was simply untenable.

What followed was an unseemly and–- to use Moores’ own words ‘heartbreaking’ – fallout between co-owners Hicks and Gillett themselves. Plus a bitter feud between Hicks and the man Moores had trusted to run his club for 13 years, Chief Executive Rick Parry. Hicks publicly labelled the Anfield supremo ‘a disaster’. The famed ‘Liverpool way’ of conducting business in-house and with dignity, was duly shattered.

Add in the tensions between manager Rafael Benitez and Parry, and a man often regarded as the ideal club chairman because of his refusal to ever interfere, found himself bewildered at what was happening to the club he loved. And still does.

Once the Echo revealed Parry’s intention to quit Anfield this summer a few months back, it was never likely Moores would hang around ‘alone’ in the corridors of power.

Some fans no doubt felt comforted knowing that someone who understood them and their dreams was still there for them. They will today be concerned he is no longer on the inside to speak on their behalf.

Moores has never gone as far as saying he regrets selling to Hicks and Gillett, rather than to the original suitors in Dubai. But there is little doubt that if he could turn back the clock, he would do so.

He will remain as Honorary Life President at Anfield, where his framed colour portrait will continue to hang outside the trophy room.

He regards the title as an immense honour and one of which he is rightly proud.

But in terms of real influence, David Moores’ days are now up.

He may be gone from the boardroom along with Parry.

But one thing that will always remain at Anfield is David Moores’ heart.

The night before he sold the club, his eyes welled up in tears at the imminent sea change. Not because he was upset at relinquishing control - but because an emotional and thoroughly decent man was acutely aware of the momentous decision he was taking. He clearly felt its huge burden of responsibility.

Moores will remain a genuine and committed fan of Liverpool Football Club until his day is done.

And that, standing on the Kop cheering on his heroes, is where it all began for David Moores.

JUNE 6
Financial meltdown or
sign of improvement?

By Max Munton - This is Anfield

Looking over this morning’s back pages is not a pretty sight for Liverpool supporters as the nationals rally round the idea that the club are literally falling into a pit of financial woes, with no way out.

‘Liverpool’s American dream looks like a dead end,’ reports The Guardian. ‘Liverpool left to tumble into £420m black hole,’ declares The Independent. ‘Red alert at Liverpool’s soaring debt’ says The Times

This all stems from the news this week which publicly revealed that the club’s co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett lost £42.6million in the year ending August 2008. The club’s accountants, KPMG, warned there’s now “material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt upon the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

The American tycoons’ time at Liverpool is full of lies and unfulfilled promises since they took control of the club in February 2007, as David Conn reminds us in this morning’s Guardian.

The North American pair borrowed the £185m to take over Liverpool and although they promised in those choreographed public appearances not to “do a Glazers”, they have loaded the responsibility for paying those debts on to the club itself.

It was of course true that the banking system had collapsed, but the club was sold to Hicks and Gillett because they were supposed to have the muscle to build the stadium. There is no sign that they are any further forward now; one Liverpool source, asked about the project yesterday, said: “You can forget about that.”

Similar sighs of disbelief about the new stadium project’s potential to never get started are aired in Nick Harris’ article in The Independent.

KFL’s debts increased by £77.5m in a year, partly because of £18.7m spent in the period on work relating to the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park, including on architects’ fees. “This is for a stadium that is as far away as ever from being started, let alone finished,” said one source.

Hicks and Gillett are confident that they’ll seal an extension on the loan they took out to purchase the club from the Royal Bank of Scotland. It’s due to be refinanced by July 24th and although fans group Spirit of Shankly called for the RBS to call off ties with Hicks and Gillett yesterday and give the Americans no other choice than to sell up, this is likely to be nothing more than a pipe dream. What bank would give up a loan opportunity where they were making £36.5m from interest per year?

But looking beyond the obvious doom of the headlines and figures in red, this morning’s papers mention positive signs that the club is on the up, not down as reports would have you believe. After all, Hicks and Gillett will have know of their financial position for a long time before this news broke out. In that time, Rafa Benitez has been given a new contract and Fernando Torres has been given a pay rise.

Figures released last week which showed the club’s best ever turnover and a sizeable profit for the year ending July 2008 shows somewhere, someone in the club is doing their job right. The figures also revealed that the Americans had invested their own money into the club. David Conn continues:

Hicks and Gillett have put money in, a significant difference from the Glazers, who have provided nothing for United to invest. The accounts show that £58m was loaned from the Cayman Islands holding company, which is understood to have funded player signings.

Meanwhile “a Liverpool source” tells Nick Harris in The Independent that looking at the positives from the current situation makes for a happier reading. After all, this is the first squeak we’ve heard from the Hicks and Gillett soap opera in months and that’s because for the last few months things have been rosy for Liverpool. A fantastic end of season run, along with Rafa’s new contract means all the signs are there to put up a fantastic title challenge next season. And that is what we all want, isn’t it.

“Six months ago there was a chief executive [Rick Parry, about to depart] who’s relationship with at least one owner [Hicks] was untenable. The manager’s position was in doubt, which meant the players felt unstable. The owners were not getting on and commercially the club was standing still. Things look very different now. Rafa has a new deal, the players are happy and settled and there is money for more squad investment. Tom and George are united in their ambitions.”

Other positives to take from this morning’s papers is a unanimous agreement that Liverpool’s financial problems will not effect Benitez’s transfer kitty this summer, with the Spaniard being given £20million plus whatever he makes from selling players to bolster his squad.

Andy Hunter writes in The Guardian:

Rafael Benítez’s transfer budget will not be reduced as a result of the alarming losses suffered by Liverpool’s parent company, Kop Football (Holdings) Limited.

Nick Harris says in The Independent:

Liverpool’s manager, Rafa Benitez, will still be given summer transfer funds of around £20m plus whatever he makes in sales, according to sources close to the club’s owners

The news that broke this week perhaps appears or sounds worse simple because there is nothing to distract the press or fans this week. Now that the season’s over, it’s the only piece of Liverpool news breaking at the moment. If Liverpool go out and sign a couple of top quality first team players this summer, then this doom and gloom of financial worry will be pushed to the back of minds as football does the talking once again.

JUNE 5
George Gillett & Tom Hicks:
We owe less than rival clubs

By Luke Traynor - Liverpool Echo

Liverpool FC today vowed it was not going bust despite losses of nearly £41m in 2008.

Latest accounts for Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd showed debt rising by £77m to £359, as revealed exclusively yesterday on the ECHO’s website.

Auditors also cast doubt on the Anfield club’s future as a "going concern."

But owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett today dismissed that analysis as merely "accountancy-speak."

Sources close to Liverpool FC said the club was hugely buoyed by the Reds’ recent financial performance.

And they claimed Liverpool was in less debt than the rest of the Big Four Premiership clubs.

But angry fans today urged the Royal Bank of Scotland not to extend a loan to the club’s owners – who in turn said they remained committed to building a 73,000 capacity stadium in Stanley Park.

A club source said: "We would not have spent £18m on the planning process and a huge feasibility study if we were not fully behind this project."

"Because of the potential that the stadium offers, work will begin once the global market opens again."

They promised to meet a July 24 deadline to refinance the club, continue to plough equity into Liverpool and put forward new transfer funds.

JUNE 4
How Liverpool FC owners' saddled club
with £359m debt and £41m annual loss

By David Bartlett - Liverpool Echo

The full scale of the debt Liverpool FC’s American owners have saddled the club with can today be revealed.

Despite increasing turnover and a 60% rise in TV income, Kop Football Holdings – a company through which Tom Hicks and George Gillett own LFC – made a £41m loss before tax.

Liverpool’s parent company suffered mainly due to interest payments on the debts the Americans took on to buy the club.

Most worryingly, in the annual accounts submitted today, LFC’s accountants have also warned that remaining uncertainty over refinancing the £359m debt before the July 24 deadline may even “cast significant doubt on the group’s and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

Although Hicks and Gillett say they are confident of securing a refinancing deal, the figures reveal the financial success of the football club is being swallowed up by the cost of servicing the parent company’s loans.

The accounts for the year ending July 2008 showed Liverpool made a £10.2m profit but the parent company Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd made a substantial loss of £41m, mainly due to interest payments totalling £36.5m.

The clubs accountants KPMG LLP also expressed a warning in their notes in the filed accounts.

The accountants said: “The group has credit facilities amounting to £350m which expire on 24 July 2009. The directors have initiated negotiations to secure the replacement finance required by the group and these negotiations are ongoing.

“These conditions... indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the group’s and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

The club’s turnover was a record £161m compared to £133.9m the year before, with a profit of £10.2m.

That was reflected by a similar turnover for Kop Football (Holdings) of £164m - most coming from the football club - but the overall loss of £42.6m.

The majority of the loss was down to interest being paid on the £350m refinancing loan it took out with Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia last January.

The ECHO can reveal:

* In total Kop and Liverpool FC Limited paid £40.1m in servicing debt and overdrafts in the year to July 31, 2008.

* Kop’s debts have increased by £77.5m to £359.7m, due to spending on players and the new stadium.

* Kop has also been saddled with a new £58.2m debt, which is owed to its own parent company Kop Football (Cayman) Limited, also owned by Hicks and Gillett.

The money is payable on demand, but not if doing so would make the company insolvent.

Kop also owes £2.4m in interest to Cayman, but none was paid in the year.

The information was disclosed in accounts filed with Companies House, and follows the revelation of the club’s own finances.

Liverpool FC Limited recorded a pre-tax profit of £10.2m for the year to July 31, 2008, an improvement on the previous year’s loss of £21.7m.

Turnover shot up to £159.1m mainly as a result of the lucrative TV deal which the Premier League secured with leading broadcasters Sky and the BBC.

As a result Kop had a turnover of £161.8m, but still made a huge loss because of the debts.

The accounts show Kop paid bank and overdraft charges of £35.4m, while Liverpool FC Ltd paid £4.7m.

It is understood the owners have put in around £40m cash in the past year.

Hicks and Gillett have to refinance the £350m debt by July 24, and are expected to be asked by the banks to inject more of their own cash.

The accounts state: “Directors are actively considering a series of options which include a revised debt facility with its current providers and potential equity financing.

“The fact that facilities are not currently in place to fund all projected cash requirements over the next 12 months indicates the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt upon the group’s ability to continue as a going concern...

“The directors have a reasonable expectation that the group will secure adequate resources to enable the group to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”

The current state of the finances should not impact on manager Rafa Benitez’s transfer kitty, though, as the owners are said to recognise the club must remain a success on the field if they are make money from the club in future.

Today a club source said: “The bulk of the debt is in Kop, so the two sets of accounts have to be seen together. The club’s accounts don’t give a true picture.

“The big issue is the level of interest that is being put on the club.

“The worry is that you might keep servicing the loan and paying the interest, but never actually repaying the loan.

“It’s OK as long as the owners keep signing off cheques, and they should be given credit for that.

“But the club is not generating sufficient cash in itself to pay the interest and provide finance for players.”

In the same financial year £18.7m was spent on planning, design and some ground works for the new £350m 60,000 seater stadium planned for Stanley Park.

Last year the club put the plans on hold due to the credit crunch and said the stadium would be open in time for the 2012/13 season.

“Since the decision to delay construction work, further preparatory expenditure has been incurred and a transport study has been undertaken to support an increase in seating capacity to 73,000 which will be submitted in the second quarter of 2009,” the accounts state.

The ECHO understands the club may delay putting in a fresh planning application until there is more clarity about the financial situation.

The accounts added: “The directors continue to monitor the useful economic life of the existing stadium which they consider to be five years including the current year.”

APRIL 26
Indian group
eye Reds move

Sky Sports

The owners of an Indian IPL cricket club have emerged as the latest suitors to buy into Liverpool.

Leading members of the Indian-based GMR group, which is owned by Grandhi Mallikarjun Rao, were in Merseyside this week.

They sat alongside the American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in the Anfield directors' box for the 4-4 draw with Arsenal.

The GMR group run the Delhi Daredevils IPL side but are believed to be looking to expand into other sports.

The talks come as Hicks and Gillett must soon refinance the £350m loan which enabled them to buy the club.

Other possible suitors include Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai's ruling family, as well as Nassar Al Kharafi of Kuwait.

Thor Zakariassen ©