Liverpool FC Forum

[Ola Mr Benitez]

I really hope so Benny.. I really do

[Reg]

We have to trust someone at the end of the day - this guy has all the good credentials and the cv and the previous backing and there doesn't seem to be any previous problems with him . We can't think they are all like the two parasites with currently have . I'm presuming they want the deal done quickly so they can still invest in players before window shuts

Benny you're making the same massive assumptions that Moores made about T&T.  We need proper background checks into all bidders.

[Ola Mr Benitez]

I suppose my real issue is what he has said so far..

We will be able to buy anyone and the ground will be started very soon.. sounds a bit too familiar for me...  Snoopdy snoo (?) and spade in the ground in 60 days anyone?

[Benny The Noon]

Yes it is familiar with what they are saying but their bacgrounds could not be any more different .

[tubby]

Has Huang ever had dealings with any companies that have gone bust?

[Benny The Noon]

Who is Kenny Huang? Our Potential New Owner

Posted on Monday, 2nd August 2010 by David Tully

Sorry for reposting this old article, but I thought it might be interesting for those who haven’t read it to show who Kenny Huang actually is. I have updated parts of the article.

Kenneth Huang, or Huang Jianhua to go by his Chinese name, has been linked with a consortium who are apparently attempting to buy Liverpool Football Club, but who exactly is he? Huang had the unique honour of becoming China’s first graduate to work in the New York Stock Exchange in the 1980s, and has developed an interest in Western culture during his time in the United States. After graduating in 1984 with a BA degree from Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, his hometown, he moved to study in the US at Columbia University before moving to New York to complete his Masters degree at St Johns. It was when he was at New York University though, while completing some MBA financial management courses, that he began to work at the Stock Exchange.

From here on, Huang became an exceptionally accomplished business executive, building relationships in his native China and using his connections to great effect. He set up many international investments and financing projects between Chinese and American companies, partnering with many of China’s large state-owned enterprises in the deals, and making large profits by benefiting from the economic boom in China. One of his crucial partners in America was with one Les Alexander, and this is where Huang’s connections in sport become very interesting. Alexander is the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets and back in 2002, Huang worked with Alexander to bring Chinese Basketball superstar Yao Ming to the NBA to play for Alexander’s team.

Huang’s involvement in US Sport doesn’t end there though. He seems to have enthusiasm for many American sports including basketball and baseball. He uses his company SportsPro Media China to link Chinese sponsors and US Sports giants, including baseball team New York Yankees where he owns a percentage of the franchise with American businessman Marc Ganis. He has also brought much needed multi-year sponsorship deals for basketball teams Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers in recent years, as well helping to boost the NBA’s profile in China through pre-season tours. Early this year, Huang bought a 15% stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers leading to speculation in the US that Yao Ming would move from the Houston Rockets to join NBA all-star Lebron James at Cleveland. James has subsequently left to join the Miami Heat.

As well as being involved with sport in America, Huang has started to promote basketball in his native China, buying Jilin Northeast Tigers and purchasing a Basketball league in his home country (the National Basketball League) to rival the present Chinese Basketball Association. On top of this, he announced last year a youth Baseball league in the country, showing that his enthusiasm for sport is wide ranging. Huang it seems is determined to make both sports as popular as possible in China.

Huang continues to excel in business too and recently set up a new business venture called Rocket Capital with Les Alexander and San Antonio Spurs former owner Billy Joe “Red” McCombs. Together (with Alexander & McCombs billions and Huang’s connections with China’s state industries) they have begun to collect an assortment of companies, investing in one of China’s largest automakers Brilliance Auto, as well as in the China Railway Group, China Sinoma International Engineering, Uni President Enterprises Corp, Xinjiang XinXin Mining Industry, and Anta Sports Products, the last of which now sponsor’s Alexander’s Houston Rockets. Rocket Capital also has invested large amounts into Hong Kong’s private equity market, to the amount of $200 million in 2007 alone.

The two things you need to know about Huang then, are that although he is wealthy, it is his backers that will possess the majority of the investment. The second fact is that not only will he bring wealthy backers, his connections with China’s state owned companies mean exceptionally lucrative sponsorship deals from the Far East. If Huang’s consortium does takeover, expect many pre-season tours of China, but also keep in mind that Liverpool maybe the first football club to crack the highly lucrative market in China. Huang already has a track record of doing this, tying Anta to Houston Rockets and more recently Tsing Tsao to the Cleveland Cavaliers. His passion for sport is undoubted with his deal-brokering in both Basketball and Baseball, and he now looks like turning his attention to football and Liverpool FC.


Everything i have read about him is nothing but good and not one failed investment or going bankrupt

[lakes10]

Has Huang ever had dealings with any companies that have gone bust?

not that we know of mate....so far lol

[LFC2007]

The sum of our knowledge is only enough to be confident that there is something in the pipeline and that in all likelihood Kenny Huang is involved. The Huang story has been carried by a large proportion of the mainstream press suggesting there's probably something it, while Broughton - who oversees the sale process - has been quoted today by the Guardian as saying there have been bids. Beyond that - the exact details of the bid and the route to a takeover - and we're in Lakes territory.

[lakes10]

he has always been a deal maker and never buys out the whole company himself. yes he is well back......but what happens if that backing ends? when you deal with the far east you better have a bloody good back up plan, i have seen things go very wrong  when i was at ML due to someone say a wrong word about the far east and they pull out of a deal or cut backing

[tubby]

China is probably the next big superpower in the world. Are things really still that bad over there?

[Ciggy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7924697/Liverpool-approach-Premier-League-as-potential-sale-gathers-momentum.html


Liverpool approach Premier League as potential sale gathers momentum
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and at least one potential bidder for the club have alerted the Premier League to a possible change of ownership at Anfield.


By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
Published: 7:00PM BST 03 Aug 2010

In a further sign that momentum is gathering towards the possible sale of the club this month, Liverpool have opened discussions with the League to ensure that any new owner complies with its ownership rules.

Under new regulations the League requires 10 days' notice of any change of ownership or the appointment of new directors. Any new owners must also meet the Premier League board in person and provide proof that they have the funds to buy the club and sustain it for a full season.

While no buyer has yet entered the 10-day period, it is understood that senior club officials and potential new owners have contacted the League to alert them to a potential change.

Broughton is keen to conclude a deal before the end of the transfer window this month, and his confidence that there will be fresh investment at Anfield is understood to have played a part in Fernando Torres pledging his future to the club on Tuesday.

Broughton has also indicated that there are several potential bidders keen to take over from Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett, but thus far only Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang has made his intentions explicit.

Huang, the Hong Kong-based chairman of QSJ Sports, initially approached the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has lent around £237 million to the Americans, in an attempt to exploit anxiety about their financial position and force a sale on the club board.

The bank, which initially denied it had had contact with Huang, referred him to Broughton and Barclay Capital, the investment bankers appointed to find new owners.

Huang is hoping to secure the club for no more than £300 million, a valuation that will cover the club's debt but not provide the Americans with the profit they envisaged when they launched their leveraged takeover in 2007.

If Huang is to complete a deal and comply with the Premier League rules he will have to provide the proof of funds so far lacking from explanations of his plans.

As yet his UK advisers have declined to say who is backing Huang's bid, saying only that he has the support of a Far Eastern sovereign wealth fund. The assumption is that the source of his capital is Chinese.

Huang's decision to go public with his bid for the club was an attempt to pressure RBS and Broughton into pressing forward with his offer. While Hicks and Gillett are highly unlikely to approve any deal that does not reflect the value they believe they have added to the club, the other members of the board could overrule them and approve a sale.

As well as Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre sit on the board, and together could outvote the Americans.

[lakes10]

well found Ciggy, a real sign that thing are moving, lets hope it the right person they sell it to.

[lakes10]

"Huang's decision to go public with his bid for the club was an attempt to pressure RBS and Broughton into pressing forward with his offer. While Hicks and Gillett are highly unlikely to approve any deal that does not reflect the value they believe they have added to the club, the other members of the board could overrule them and approve a sale."

this is where it could get nasty.
it could also take a very long time to get them out, we could be left with a case like Kenny owns the debt of the club but G&H still owns the club and are holding off due to not making any money from their company sales, could end up in high court.

[Ciggy]

well found Ciggy, a real sign that thing are moving, lets hope it the right person they sell it to.

My biggest fear is we end up with someone worst than twit & tw@t as much as I hate them and want them out people should remain cautious and be aware that there are even worse owners out there.

I wont be welcoming anyone with open arms as much as I want them two gone, actions speak louder than words.

What I would love more than anything is for twit & tw@tter not to receive a single penny from the club being sold after everything they have put us through.

[lakes10]

well found Ciggy, a real sign that thing are moving, lets hope it the right person they sell it to.

My biggest fear is we end up with someone worst than twit & tw@t as much as I hate them and want them out people should remain cautious and be aware that there are even worse owners out there.

I wont be welcoming anyone with open arms as much as I want them two gone, actions speak louder than words.

What I would love more than anything is for twit & tw@tter not to receive a single penny from the club being sold after everything they have put us through.

i hear you on that Gig but there is also going to be some liverpool fans that are never going to be happy with any one that buys the club untill its the fans that own it, them fans will be the ones giving the owners a lot of stick even if they give the manager 50mil to spend.

also i am not sure if right now is the time to build a new ground, might be worth holding on for another year and see what happens to the worl money.