Liverpool FC Forum

by **Paul C** » Tue May 11, 2004 10:19 am

Apparentely it's signed seal and going to be delivered, according to BBC Sport:

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has done a deal to invest in Liverpool, according to a government spokesman.
Thaksin said on Monday that he was on the verge of buying a 30% stake in the Anfield club for a reported £65m.

And he made a cabinet announcement on Tuesday, said government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair, who added: "We will buy it in the name of Thailand."

Thaksin said he could not give any more details, pending a formal announcement at an undisclosed time in the future.

The Thai PM, who was a telecoms tycoon before he moved into politics, is estimated to be worth $800m and is believed to be ready to invest in the Premiership club in an attempt to cash in on their popularity in Asia.

"We've talked and now it's just up to Liverpool and then we'll be able to make an announcement," he said before adding that the deal was "not too expensive".

Thaksin revealed that a company formed with other Thai private investors to pump money into the club would receive commercial rights to use the Liverpool brand and that a football academy would be set up in Thailand.

His spokesman, Chakrapot Penkai, believes the deal will be mutually beneficial.

"Thailand thinks that the Liverpool team can enhance the standard of the sport's development in Thailand a great deal," he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

"Why does the prime minister want to invest in Liverpool? Because it is the era of the brand name and with a good quality brand name you can do many things.

"Liverpool's name is a world-class name - people attach their fantasies, their liking for sports, their enhancement in life, their self-development, along with this kind of team."

Reds chairman David Moores and Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry have been in Bangkok working on the deal.

And the Thai fan club's president, Boonchai Mongkolratankorn, said all Liverpool supporters would be happy that marketing merchandise in Asia would help buy new players.

"The prime minister shouldn't have anything to do with management of the club but I think he wants a say in buying and selling players," Boonchai said.

"I'm not sure if the prime minister is really a Liverpool fan," he added. "He says he is but when Manchester United were here, he said he supported them."

by **dawson99** » Tue May 11, 2004 10:35 am

Maybe now we got some real money we can go for some real plays, bring us VDV!

by **anfieldadorer** » Tue May 11, 2004 10:45 am

Thai PM 'seals' Liverpool deal
11 May 2004

Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has reached a deal to buy a stake in Liverpool, according to Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair.

Thaksin is reported to have made the announcement at a Cabinet meeting.

He said he could not give any more details ahead of a formal joint announcement by Thaksin and the Liverpool board.

Thaksin met yesterday with a group of Liverpool representatives led by the club's chief executive Rick Parry at his Government House office to discuss his bid to buy a 30% stake in the club.

Thaksin told reporters after the meeting that the stake would cost more than £60million, which he intended to raise by inviting other Thai businessmen to join the investment...

More: click here

by **Stan Laurel** » Tue May 11, 2004 10:51 am

Very good news for me and Liverpool Fans, we are getting stronger next season, we will be back, so come on Liverpool!!!!

Like your avatar of Lennon, look really cool, anfieldadorer.

by **Redtribe** » Tue May 11, 2004 10:51 am

I'm quite concearned about the whole deal!
This has been bought up by Thailand itself not the PM!

Has he directly bought up Moores shares?
In which case does this now mean Thailand are know the largest shareholders in LFC?

What happens when the Goverment in thailand changes hands?

by **anfieldadorer** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:21 am

Thanx, Stan.
Not sure, Redtribe, but this hopefully could help:

LIVERPOOL were last night considering a £50 million offer of funds from a property multimillionaire intent on taking English football’s most successful club to the top of the Premier League. Steve Morgan, a lifelong supporter of the team who used to hitch-hike to games away from home before he made his fortune by building houses, is proposing to underwrite a share issue in exchange for a greater say over how the club is run.
The 51-year-old already has a 5 per cent stake in the club but has been trying for years to increase it. Shares in Liverpool, costing £4,000 each, are hard to come by. The majority are in the hands of the Moores family, whose patriarch, Sir John, was the founder of Littlewoods pools. The second-biggest shareholder is Granada, the media group now part of ITV plc, whose 9.9 per cent stake could become available.

On Friday, Liverpool appointed financial advisers to “evaluate the range of strategic and financial options available to maximise the potential of the club”. The move came after interest from Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand, in investing in the club in exchange for an academy partnership.

Morgan’s offer reportedly stipulates that David Moores, the chairman, cannot subscribe to the new shares. This would mean a dilution of the family’s stake from 51 per cent, although they would retain economic control.

The share issue, which would be open to others, could increase Morgan’s stake to 15 per cent, entitling him to a seat on the Liverpool board. A source said: “It is not a takeover bid. Steve wants to put his money into the club — not the chairman’s pocket — by buying shares.”

However, supporters are not sure that Moores and Morgan could work together. “The antipathy between the two men has been obvious for years,” Steve Davies, of the Independent Liverpool Supporters Association, said.

Morgan aired a number of criticisms of the board at the annual meeting in January, when he attacked the decision to borrow heavily to finance a new 60,000 stadium in Stanley Park. He also expressed concern about the performance of the team, at the time in sixth place in the Barclaycard Premiership.

“We should be comparing ourselves to Manchester United — which is a four- letter word round here,” the Jersey-based businessman told shareholders. His investment would be expected to help to finance the stadium, therefore reducing the club’s debt burden, as well as covering some player acquisitions.

A spokesman for Morgan said that he would issue a statement “within 24 hours”. Liverpool declined to comment.

source: here

by **ICE-MAN** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:26 am

that steve morgan thing was ages ago and it was rejected!
no the thai deal doesnt directly dilute moores shares they will still be majority shareholder! the lads on the board are no mugs they will only let them invest if its good for the club which i think it is! if we can reduce the new stadium debt a little and bring in some better established players rather than players for the future then bring on the cash! :cool:

by **Redtribe** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:32 am

It does seem to me that these shares will be diluting Moores sharehold and will Give the Thai goverment a huge percentage if not the majority!
The Thai economy/goverment are quite corrupt as far as i know and wouldnt say the most stable either!
Worries me slightly as i said what will happen when Goverment changes in Thailand! Or the PM steps down!
What sort of say are they going to have in running the Club?

by **ICE-MAN** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:34 am

they wont have a majority shareholding i know that for a fact!
they wont have any say in the running of the club but maybe they will express an opinion on new signings etc. :cool:

by **Redtribe** » Tue May 11, 2004 11:49 am

Thats Good News Iceman

There is very little info on the whole deal i have been trawling the net trying to find out more details i guess i will just have to wait and see the press conference!

Still find it all a bit odd that and hard to get my head round the fact that 30% will be owned by Thailand!

by **Paul C** » Tue May 11, 2004 12:02 pm

Does Moores use the same tanning centre as 'Big Ron'

by **ckay** » Tue May 11, 2004 12:21 pm

Will there be transfer cash? that's all I want to know. According to BBC the shares will come from Moores himself so the only person to gain would be Moores and not the club.

by **LFC #1** » Tue May 11, 2004 12:27 pm

Amnesty warns Reds on Thai PM deal

Human rights campaigners have warned Liverpool against accepting the proposed £60m investment from billionaire Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Premier is hopeful of purchasing a stake of as much as 30 per cent in the Anfield club by the end of the week. However, Shinawatra's government has been severely criticised by Amnesty International.

It is unclear whether the finds involved in the deal are coming from Thaksin's personal business fortune or public funds.

Spokesman Jakrapob Penkair is reported to have said today: 'We will buy it in the name of Thailand. We want Thai people to be part of the purchase.

'The Thai government is the one that negotiated the deal, not Thaksin and most of the money will come from public funds.'

This would appear to contradict assurances made by Thailand's Deputy Minister of Commerce Pongsak Ruktapongpisal over the weekend.

'I also want to assure you that the money comes from the Prime Minister himself not from public funds,' he said in a statement.

Neil Durkin, an Amnesty spokesman, told The Daily Telegraph: 'Thailand's human rights record has been a particular concern recently following a government-led "drugs war" that has seen several thousand drugs suspects killed by law enforcement officers.

'In one three-month period alone last year, a staggering 2,245 people were killed according to official statistics. We have called on the Thai government to allow independent investigations into this worrying wave of killings.'

Steven Kelly, editor of Liverpool fanzine Through the Wind and the Rain, added: 'We should have distanced ourselves from this guy from day one. If we had an ounce of humanity we should have said 'No' immediately.

'He [Shinawatra] doesn't look like the kind of character you should be doing business with. There is going to be controversy about it. It's dragging morality down when the majority of people say "As long as the team is good, I don't care".'

Shinawatra, a former police official who made his fortune in telecommunications, has been in talks with Reds chief executive Rick Parry, said: 'If the board are happy with the result of talks then we can make a joint announcement later this week, maybe Friday.

'It is a good business prospect since the team is in the top five of the English Premiership.'

His spokesman, Chakrapot Penkai, added: 'Why does the prime minister want to invest in Liverpool? Because it is the era of the brand name, with a good quality brand name you can do many things.

'Liverpool's name is a world-class name - people attach their fantasies, their liking for sports, their enhancement in life, their self-development, along with this kind of team.

'Thailand is an up and coming country, so we need some names to help us come into the global era.'

Part of any deal could see Liverpool setting up an academy in Thailand and help with the country's professional league. The Reds faced Thailand's national team in a friendly last July, winning 3-1 in Bangkok.

This is a worrying thing, i can see the positive of the money, but who is this guy, he doesn't seem like the sort of man a football club should be involved with.

by **Paul C** » Tue May 11, 2004 12:49 pm

Looks like Houllier will be spending bllod/drugs money this summer

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