Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ciggy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:34 pm

Oh ffs it looks like the tw@ts are in London and might have pulled this off, lets hope this rumour turns out false it will be the end of us if they have managed to pay RBS off :down:

by **NANNY RED** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:54 pm

Ciggy wrote:Oh ffs it looks like the tw@ts are in London and might have pulled this off, lets hope this rumour turns out false it will be the end of us if they have managed to pay RBS off

Been feeling it in me gut for ages now Cigg that theyd find money from somewhere . said a while ago.

It really is time for us to get nasty now . im fed up with being shouted down by supporters who turn up once in a blue moon to watch us and still have the heads buried in the sand about these two, support the team , we do support the fecking team. but were also trying to fight for the survival of our club and make sure there is a team to support. Time now for in match protests and not just by members of SOS but by the whole fu.cking stadium. Sick of it just sick of it ,

by **Redangel** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:55 pm

Just sent an email , tried to keep it civilised but found it really hard. Please God this cannot be true. Will we ever be rid of them.
This is obviously where the rumour that they would be at the match tonight came from , if indeed they are in London.
:angry:

by **Benny The Noon** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:58 pm

If this happens and we go past the 6th oct deadline with them still owners and with new finance i will be joining SOS

by **Redangel** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:02 pm

Agree Nanny , if this is true we are truly up creek without paddle. We need direct action. We should handcuff ourselves together around the perimeter and stop anyone going in !

Not buying merchandise is not working , too many still are , and it's far too late for that now. We have to think outside the box , if we are going to stop them and force the sale.

by **Ciggy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:06 pm

Them both being in London it is true they where seen at barcap yesterday and the day before, the police have said they are in the UK but wont be at the ground tonight.
As for them getting the money from other banks that remains just a rumour for now.

The 3 previous times they got the re-finance they where in London so we all know something is happening just quite what it is we will find out soon enough.

All eyes will be at the directors box tonight for Arab/Indian/Chinese looking people if its true some potential buyers will be there.

by **Reg** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:25 pm

T&T do not have a viable business plan anymore.

So will Broughton accept they refinance the RBS loan but leave the club without a transfer kitty nor funds to build the stadium ie without a way to move forward? If BarCap or RBS accept a refinance they know ultimately they are commiting the club to death.

T&T have shot their bolt, they have nothing left to offer so IMHO what little its worth, BarCaps responsibility is to CHANGE the owners, not just service the current debt. Broughton said he'd been brought in (pun not intended) to sell the club, he must complete that brief.

by **Ciggy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:28 pm

Reg wrote:T&T do not have a viable business plan anymore.

So will Broughton accept they refinance the RBS loan but leave the club without a transfer kitty nor funds to build the stadium ie without a way to move forward? If BarCap or RBS accept a refinance they know ultimately they are commiting the club to death.

T&T have shot their bolt, they have nothing left to offer so IMHO what little its worth, BarCaps responsibility is to CHANGE the owners, not just service the current debt. Broughton said he'd been brought in (pun not intended) to sell the club, he must complete that brief.

Some on TIA said they have offered 100 million + Kop Delaware what ever the feck Kop Delaware is

by **Reg** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:27 pm

Kop Delaware is probably one of the holding companies (ie a % of the shares they hold). Cash + shares.

by **Benny The Noon** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:00 pm

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks will attempt to refinance debts of £237 million with Royal Bank of Scotland in an effort to remain in control at Anfield, Telegraph Sport can disclose.

Hicks flew to London earlier this week and met with Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and the club management team on Wednesday. He is understood to have told them that raising fresh finance to buy out the RBS debt is one a number of options he is considering ahead of the Oct 6 refinancing deadline set by the bank.

It is unclear whether Hicks is yet in a position to buy out the RBS loans, incurred in the acquisition of the club in 2007.

The Texan is not thought to have held talks with RBS during his UK visit, but the bank is considering extending its financing to Hicks and co-owner George Gillett in order to provide Broughton with more time to secure a buyer for the club.

Such a move would undoubtedly prove unpopular with supporters hopeful that Oct 6 would see the bank call time on owners who have become deeply unwelcome on Merseyside.

Perhaps significantly Gillett has not been part of the talks in London this week and his precise role in the negotiations remains uncertain. His position may be complicated by the fact that he used his 50 per cent stake in the club as security against borrowings he made in order to meet RBS’s demand for personal guarantees in a previous refinancing round in 2008.

Were Hicks to be successful in raising the money to buy out RBS, Broughton and his colleagues on the club board would have to decide whether to attempt to block the deal.

Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre blocked the American’s last attempt to refinance in June. They did so only having taken legal advice from Slaughter & May that they were able to do so.

Company law requires directors to act in the best interests of the shareholders - in this case Hicks and Gillett - but in some circumstances they can over-ride those concerns if it is deemed to be in the company’s interests.

If Hicks returns with a refinancing deal before Oct 6 they will face the same choice. Broughton is understood to have told Hicks on Wednesday that the board remain open-minded and will listen to any proposal he places before it.

Broughton, who was appointed in April as a condition of RBS extending the financing to the Americans for six months, has made it clear that he considers the sale of the club to an owner who removes the club’s debt and allows investment in a new stadium to be the best deal for Liverpool’s future.

The absence of any buyers willing to meet Hicks’ and Gillett’s valuation has placed RBS in a deeply uncomfortable position, and despite pressure from supporters there appears to be little appetite within the bank to force the American’s into default.

Bank sources have told Telegraph Sport that taking control at Anfield is their least-favoured option, and that they will consider extending the current financing arrangement if required.

They have also suggested that they will take a “more active” role in the sales process, though with just three weeks until the refinancing deadline and a shortage of interested parties that appears to be positioning ahead of a deeply sensitive period.

While RBS has moved the loans to its “bad bank”, the global restructuring group, Hicks has consistently maintained that Liverpool is a growing and increasingly profitable company rather than a distressed asset.
His pursuit of a potential refinancing deal indicates his determination to remain involved and recognise value from the club

by **Ciggy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:24 pm

Andy Heaton on twitter has said the RBS deadline is the 10th of October and not the 6th.

Tariq panja from bloomberg:

#LFC co-owner Tom Hicks in London. He's hoping to arrange a quick refinance that would involve US banks + hedgefunds loaning cash to pay RBS

From David Maddock: Hicks is out to get full control at Anfield

You were right about hicks going to fbr. Apparently gillett has defaulted on a loan in u.s. Which uses lfc as collateral, and so his stake could be taken off him. Hicks trying to buy credit note and refinance to take full control - very messy

Remember the rocket from bamba well this must be it.

by **Ciggy** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:11 pm

How can Gillett use LFC as collateral the RBS must have known about this surely?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... -liverpool

Tom Hicks has launched a last‑ditch attempt to retain control of Liverpool by looking to secure another refinancing deal against the club during talks with bankers in London.

Hicks and fellow Liverpool co-owner, George Gillett, face losing the club to the Royal Bank of Scotland next month when the deadline for refinancing loans of at least £237.4m – according to club accounts to July 2009 – expire. But despite fierce opposition from the majority of the Anfield board to any further attempts at refinancing by the Americans, believed to owe approximately £280m under the terms of their arrangement with the bank in April, the Texan businessman has not given up hope of extending his controversial reign. Hicks has discussed refinancing options with, among others, the investment bank FBI Capital Markets.

Liverpool would face further damaging interest repayments should Hicks succeed in preventing the RBS from taking control and selling the club on for much less than the Americans' original £800m valuation. However, Hicks would require majority approval from the Liverpool board to secure a deal and, so far, the chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre have opposed his attempts to remain at the helm.

It is understood Hicks is operating alone on this latest refinancing package, with Gillett struggling to repay a previous loan taken out against Liverpool. Broughton has yet to find a buyer for the club five months after his appointment as chairman with that specific brief.

by **Thommo's perm** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:17 pm

aCe' wrote:1000 !

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!

As part of the celebration i suggest we ban Benny-the-noon until further notice....

Tut tut
Play nice

by **Igor Zidane** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:30 pm

George Gillett’s reign at Liverpool is on the verge of ending - with Tom Hicks ready to launch a bid to seize control of the club.

Gillett has been battling financial problems in America and is facing a deadline next month from Royal Bank of Scotland on a £75million loan set against his 50 per cent stake in Liverpool.

As the American’s financial empire continues to struggle, his partner Tom Hicks is desperately trying to take control - by forcing through a refinancing package at Anfield.

That will outrage the club’s disillusioned fans, who turned out in disappointing numbers last night for the Europa League game against Steaua Bucharest.

Hicks is even thought to have already approached several American banks - one of which is FBR Capital Markets, which has offices in Washington and London - to try to raise enough capital to buy Gillett’s credit note and pay off the Royal Bank of Scotland debt of around £230million.

Gillett borrowed the £75million from U.S. Hedge Fund Mill Financial, an arm of Springfield Financial Co, back in 2008, when he and Hicks were forced to reduce their debt placed on Liverpool by lenders RBS.

The Colorado-based businessmen extended that loan at the end of 2008, but when the company called it in earlier this summer, he was unable to find the funds to repay them, and sources say he may have no option but to default.

That leaves the prospect of his 50 per cent in the club being taken as collateral, a situation that leaves him powerless to resist the sale of his shares.

But Hicks is now desperately trying to find the finance to take full control of the club by buying his partner’s debt note from Mill Financial, giving him sole ownership.

The Texan has held a series of meetings in London - one of which was with the Reds board - as the October 11 deadline approaches when the RBS demand repayment of a sizeable chunk of their £280 million debt.

He has already failed in one attempt to gain control, back in June, when the Anfield board members Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre blocked their plans.

Now Hicks is trying to bypass the board, where he is outnumbered, to take out a new refinancing package, which would allow him to keep control of the club.

Hicks is concerned that he can not find a buyer at the price he needs to make a profit on his purchase of Liverpool, and refinancing would give him more time to sell.

But that would incense Liverpool fans, who are desperate to force him and Gillett out of the club, and are now busy lobbying the RBS and other financial institutions, in an attempt to persuade them not to extend any more credit.

The Americans’ debts on Liverpool currently stand at in excess of £350million, with interest of £20million in August alone running up on their account with the RBS, and they would need to sell at above £40million to even break even on their investment.

That is why Hicks is so feverishly looking to salvage the situation, even as Gillett finally seems to have accepted his tenure at Anfield is over, by preparing to default.

It is a critical time for Liverpool, with their lenders the RBS setting an early October deadline for the situation to be resolved.

If Hicks can’t find new backing in the next fortnight, then he is likely to be left in a position where he will also need to default - on the loan to the RBS – and that would see the ownership of the club finally change hands.

But if he does get a refinancing package from FBR or any other financial institution, then Liverpool fans are set to stage mass protests and walks outs at the club, with a boycott also planned

Read more: [url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-co-owner-George-Gillett-is-reportedly-close-to-leaving-Anfield-as-Tom-Hicks-batt
les-for-full-control-article581825.html#ixzz0zjJTHaBL]http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news....jJTHaBL[/url]
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by **shabelle50** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:13 pm

This is all Guardian led speculation which is probably wide of the mark. If Hicks has been in London he's probably meeting financiers and other advisers to make sure the DTI and others don't try to investigate his business dealings or put him down as a bad credit risk. I would be amazed if Hicks tried to refinance again. The man is a buffoon who doesn't speak to Hodgson and doesn't talk about Rafa which says it all. The only remaining issue is whether he leaves quietly or is dragged kicking and screaming from Liverpool Football Club. If either of these two idiots try to refinance again before 6 October letters will follow to the premier league, the FA, the DTI, the Department for Culture and anyone else in authority who is prepared to turf these clowns out of the north west of England for good.

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