Reds owners ‘asking too much’

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett may insist they are committed to the club and have previously denied reports they are looking to sell, but all the evidence suggests otherwise.

The Kuwait consortium, headed by Abdulla Al-Sager and previously linked with a bid for the club were guests of Hicks’ at the Chelsea match in February, claim talks are ongoing.

Al-Sager told Bloomberg talks are not going well as the owners are asking too much; “Things are going really badly, because they are asking for too much”

He added “I don’t think anything will happen unless we get a better price.”

Hicks and Gillett bought the club just over two years ago in February 2007 for £218.9m and now despite the economic crisis are asking for more than double that amount for the club, with £500m the reported asking price.

The Daily Mail write:

The consortium are now likely to play a waiting game until July when Hicks and Gillett have to see if they can refinance Liverpool’s £300m debts. If they cannot, then they may be forced to sell for a much lower price.

Liverpool have also been in talks about a sale with another investment group in the Middle East and one in the US. It is understood Hicks would ideally like to find an investment partner to buy Gillett’s stake and allow him to remain in control.

While Sky Sports write:

The news could now spark a summer bidding war for the Reds as Gillett and Hicks will be forced to see if they can refinance Liverpool’s £300m debts in July.

Any possible close-season sale could be completed at a knock-down price, if the Americans are unable to agree a deal to restructure their debts.

Liverpool have also been in talks about a sale with another investment group in the Middle East and one in the United States.