Liverpool FC Forum

by **Zidane** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:20 pm

I'm still a bit uncertain about what the future holds for us though so i'm not 100% optimistic, just glad our debt is settled at least. That's a huge positive to start with.

by **Reg** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:26 pm

Liverpool Football Club & RBS -v- Hicks & Gillett

Lord Grabiner QC and Jamie Goldsmith acted for the Liverpool Football Club (Kop Football Ltd and Kop Football Holdings Ltd, “the Companies”) in hotly contested claims between RBS, the Companies, and the owners, Messrs Hicks and Gillett. RBS financed the purchase of Liverpool Football Club by Hicks and Gillett in 2007. After granting numerous extensions, RBS insisted as a pre-condition to a further extension of the major part of the facility (£200m) that the Owners agree to sell their shares in the Companies and, in the meantime, relinquish their control of the management of the Companies and bring in an independent chairman (as well as other independent directors) to run the sale process.

The Owners duly entered into agreements with RBS and the Companies, in particular, to reconstitute the boards of the Companies accordingly and to undertake not to make any changes to the revised corporate governance structure, which was then provided for in the Companies’ Articles. As a result, the facility was extended to 15 October 2010. By the beginning of October, a lengthy and thorough sale process with the assistance of professional advisers, in particular Barclays Capital, only produced two firms offers that were capable of completion in advance of the repayment date. If neither were accepted, RBS would be entitled to put Liverpool into administration with potentially catastrophic consequences on the value of the business and the club already in the relegation zone of the Premier League.

On 3 October, the Chairman, Mr Broughton, gave notice of board meetings to consider the two offers. At this point, the Owners took drastic action. In a blatant breach of the corporate governance agreements, they secretly convened and purported to pass written shareholder resolutions removing the independent directors other than the Chairman from office and replacing them with two of their representatives (including Mr Hicks’ son). In so doing, the Owners hoped to regain the control of the Companies and the sale process which they had voluntarily relinquished. The independent majority of the board refused to recognise the validity of the purported resolutions and resolved in a series of meetings to sell Liverpool Football Club to the best available bidder, NESV. Legal claims followed from each of the Owners, the Companies and RBS. The latter sought a mandatory injunction to reverse any purported reconstitution of the boards of the Companies. For their part, Messrs Hicks and Gillett sought to restrain the sale of the club to NESV.

The legal issues involved points of company law as well as the availability of mandatory injunctive relief. After a highly eventful and fast moving week, Lord Grabiner QC and Jamie Goldsmith successfully supported RBS’ application for a mandatory injunction, which was granted on the basis that there was no arguable defence to RBS’s claim. They also successfully resisted the Owners’ application for a negative injunction, which was refused. The result is that the boards of the Companies have been reconstituted and the sale process can take its proper course. Permission to appeal was refused by the Judge, Mr Justice Floyd. The owners may apply to the Court of Appeal for permission.

Grabbo lad´s Link

The full text of the London High Court Judgement

Judgement Document

Full text of the Anti Suit Judgement

Anti Suit Judgement

Bedtime reading !!!

by **burjennio** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:27 pm

Today is a good day, but we don't know enough about NESV to start partying just yet. Heres hoping

by **zarababe** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:31 pm

lets be positive - after the last week and half we have all witnessed, the commitment of Brouhgton and CO, RBS and NEVS to see this through, together with the tremendous effort of our supporter.. fantastic you all are - we can't be going though all of this just to fail again. NESV have a track record - and the Chairman has said the same.. you don't go through something like this to deliver failure..

COME ON RED ARMY... celebrate.. the good times will be here again !

by **Reg** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:31 pm

Lord Grabiner QC steals show with a match-winning cameo
Thursday, 14th October 2010
HIGH COURT SKETCH
FRANK DALLERES
IT WASN’T quite Athens 2005, but Liverpool’s High Court victory represented an exhilarating comeback of sorts. And the match-winner this week was not Steven Gerrard but the more scholarly, if less athletic, figure of Lord Grabiner QC.

The legal heavyweight, reputed to be the second highest paid barrister in the land, merely watched from the bench in the early stages of Tuesday’s hearing, as Richard Snowden QC outlined Royal Bank of Scotland’s case against Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Matters took a surprising turn when the American pair’s barrister, Paul Girolami QC, skilfully began to sow seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of the bank’s case and sought to unpick the threads of its argument, swinging momentum in his clients’ favour.

Were Hicks and Gillett, who stood accused of trying to delay or scupper a sale, really going to snatch victory and dash the Liverpool board’s plans to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures in Court 16?

Enter Grabiner. Liverpool’s QC chose his moment to pipe up and began to bulldoze the objections one by one. He showed wit, flair and a remarkable knowledge of case law, even if he did consider its use vulgar, referencing cases from 1974 and, in one crowd-pleasing move, 1896.

Only the judge Mr Justice Floyd knows how much Grabiner’s intervention influenced his judgement in Liverpool’s favour, but from the gallery he looked the clear man of the match.

by **jono** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:36 pm

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

by **dundreamin** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:39 pm

HERE WE GO,HERE WE GO,HERE WE GO

by **inglis5** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:55 pm

LOCK THIS BLOODY THREAD!!!!! I'll get my life back...

by **fivecups** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:01 pm

Today is a good day.

I rather suspect we havent' heard the last of Hicks though.

by **maypaxvobiscum** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:02 pm

@Reg, hey many thanks for the links to the judgments. of great help to me

by **mgabby** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:03 pm

burjennio wrote:Today is a good day, but we don't know enough about NESV to start partying just yet. Heres hoping

As a long time fan of both LFC and Boston Red Sox, I can say that this is the best owner in baseball. Red Sox fans love him, and so will LFC fans!

I read what he said. It is "so" John Henry to talk about "greatness for the long time" and "winning above all".
He turned the Red Sox from the "cursed" team, that never won the world series since 1918, into a team that won twice since the 2002 takeover (2004 & 2007). The Red Sox had an "off" year this season due to tons of injuries but will be back in 2011.

John Henry is buying Liverpool the try and do the same "turnaround" once again. He will not quit until we'll be a top team again (meaning to be a contender each and every year).

You can believe me. it IS a happy day for us all.

by **PabloMedina28** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:16 pm

burjennio wrote:Today is a good day, but we don't know enough about NESV to start partying just yet. Heres hoping

We know theyve been successful in thier other business as apposed 2 T&T

Thats a good start

by **Benny The Noon** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:27 pm

Dallas courts reporting that the lawsuit has now been dropped as well - they are totally gone

by **Homebooby** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:41 pm

Congratulations to everyone on this board and congrats to the 'home' team

Truly a day to savour and I hope to god that we thrash the living pants off of Everton on Sunday else it'll still be a nightmare here.

Can we lock this thread shortly and throw away the key?

by **Octsky** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:42 pm

Benny The Noon wrote:Dallas courts reporting that the lawsuit has now been dropped as well - they are totally gone

hi buddy, thats true?
link?

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