Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani sets sights on buying Liverpool from Hicks and Gillett

[Stevie H]

seems worth a new thread. 7th richest man in the world and i for one have never heard of the bloke.

 

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani sets sights on buying Liverpool from Hicks and Gillett

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article7020022.ece

 

Helen Power, Business Correspondent, Matt Hughes, Patrick Kidd

 

Liverpool emerged as a takeover target for the seventh-richest man in the world last night as the pressure mounted on Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to cut a deal to sell Anfield.

 

Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in India, is one of two tycoons from the sub-continent competing to buy a stake in the Merseyside club.

 

The Sahara Group’s chairman, Subrata Roy, and Ambani’s Reliance Industries have each tendered similar bids to pay off Liverpool’s £237 million debt in return for a 51 per cent stake in the club.

 

Last night Christian Purslow, the Liverpool chief executive, denied any knowledge of either bid, but The Times understands that approaches began as early as November and that some preliminary talks have taken place.

 

Each deal requires that the present owners make a commitment to take no dividends or expenses out of Anfield for three years to allow the club to resume a secure financial basis. One of the potential owners has also indicated a willingness to allow supporters to take a 10 per cent stake in Liverpool.

 

A source close to Hicks and Gillett said that the duo would reject on principle any bid that left them with less than 50 per cent of the club’s shares unless it involved either of them selling out entirely. A sale of more than half of the total stake would mean they would lose control of the club.

 

It is understood that Liverpool’s banker, the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland, is pressing Hicks and Gillett to cut their asking price.

 

The bank declined to comment last night, but a source close to RBS said that there has been plenty of interest in Liverpool from investors. However, the source added, the owners are blocking all deals on the table because they refuse to budge on price.

 

The source said the bank’s stipulation that the pair must pay off £100 million of the debt and inject tens of millions of pounds into the club was intended to push them into an agreement with a new investor that would permanently stabilise Liverpool’s finances.

 

A number of other potential bidders include a Saudi Arabian consortium and a United States-based buyer, who is prepared to pay the £100 million required by the lenders in exchange for 40 per cent of the club.

 

Roy, whose interest appears more serious, has been linked with ownership of one of the next IPL franchises, possibly to be based in the north Indian city of Lucknow, where the Sahara Group, of which he is chairman, is based.

 

Roy, 62, founded the company, which deals in property, media and tourism, in 1978. Its four-year sponsorship deal with the India cricket team, worth £55 million, expires this year and Roy could be looking for a new project. Sahara was linked with shirt sponsorship of Manchester United last February, a deal that fell through.

 

Ambani, 52, is said to be worth $19.5 billion (about £12.5 billion) — more than the combined worth of Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovich — from his investment in Reliance Industries, a petrochemicals giant, according to Forbes business magazine.

 

His father, Dhirubhai, turned a small textiles company into one of Asia’s largest conglomerates, but after Ambani Sr’s death in 2002, Mukesh and his younger brother, Anil, had a bitter feud over the company’s direction, eventually splitting the assets.

 

Mukesh Ambani is already a big player in sport. In 2008 he created the Mumbai Indians, one of the eight teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having paid £70 million to buy the franchise. Anil Ambani has been linked with a bid for one of two new franchises in the IPL that will be put up for auction at the end of the month, with a starting price of £140 million.

 

Gillett and Hicks took over at Anfield three years ago in a leveraged buyout costing nearly £300 million, including £70 million for a stadium that remains unbuilt. Despite promises to the contrary, they loaded the debt on to the club via a £350 million loan with RBS and have struggled to service the debt since the credit crunch began 18 months ago.

 

Before the economic climate changed for the worse, the American duo turned down an offer from Dubai worth almost £500 million — a deal that would have allowed each of the owners to walk away with a clear profit in the region of £125 million.

 

The Americans are unpopular with the supporters and the hostility at Anfield has increased as it has become clear that there is no money available to strengthen the team.

 

Purslow, whose background is in private equity, joined the club last summer with a brief to bring in investment but, despite repeated briefings that an influx of cash in close at hand, there has been little to suggest investors are keen to take a minority stake in the club.

 

While these latest offers will almost certainly be rejected, it marks the beginning of a period of jockeying for position in the ownership battle. It is a battle that, ultimately, RBS may have to resolve.

[Jarg Armani]

fingers crossed.

[Gunga Din]

i see Fyds is already here.

[fyds]

Anyone fancy a curry?

 

i see Fyds is already here.

D'accord!

[Zoob]

The bits that I believe are:

 

"A source close to Hicks and Gillett said that the duo would reject on principle any bid that left them with less than 50 per cent of the club’s shares unless it involved either of them selling out entirely."

 

and

 

"a source close to RBS said that there has been plenty of interest in Liverpool from investors. However, the source added, the owners are blocking all deals on the table because they refuse to budge on price. "

 

I believe this, because G+H are such horrible cvnts.

[fyds]

The bits that I believe are:

 

"A source close to Hicks and Gillett said that the duo would reject on principle any bid that left them with less than 50 per cent of the club’s shares unless it involved either of them selling out entirely."

 

and

 

"a source close to RBS said that there has been plenty of interest in Liverpool from investors. However, the source added, the owners are blocking all deals on the table because they refuse to budge on price. "

 

I believe this, because G+H are such horrible cvnts.

I suspect you're spot on there - but time is not on their side and the choices in the end may not be theirs to make.

[Stevie H]

bank of scotland could force american halfwits into accepting indian takeaway. mental it is.

[fyds]

bank of scotland could force american halfwits into accepting indian takeaway. mental it is.

Andy's dream scenario

[Zoob]

I suspect you're spot on there - but time is not on their side and the choices in the end may not be theirs to make.

 

In an ideal world, they would be forced to sell and end up with far far less than they could have got if they weren't being such greedy b******s. The idea of them even retaining a small portion of the club makes me feel sick, but I know it would most likely still be hugely positive even if they ended up holding onto a minority share.

 

Also thought this was interesting:

 

"Each deal requires that the present owners make a commitment to take no dividends or expenses out of Anfield for three years to allow the club to resume a secure financial basis."

 

- I read this as potential investors see that G+H are happy to grimly hold on, claim their annual $1 million in expenses, all in the hope of getting that billion dollar pay day, be it in 5, 10 or 15 years...

 

I don't know what kind of person Ambani is, but anyone who is in a different financial league would be great, as they could (and hopefully would) eventually squeeze out G+H even if it were only in stages...

[fyds]

In an ideal world, they would be forced to sell and end up with far far less than they could have got if they weren't being such greedy b******s. The idea of them even retaining a small portion of the club makes me feel sick, but I know it would most likely still be hugely positive even if they ended up holding onto a minority share.

 

Also thought this was interesting:

 

"Each deal requires that the present owners make a commitment to take no dividends or expenses out of Anfield for three years to allow the club to resume a secure financial basis."

 

- I read this as potential investors see that G+H are happy to grimly hold on, claim their annual $1 million in expenses, all in the hope of getting that billion dollar pay day, be it in 5, 10 or 15 years...

 

I don't know what kind of person Ambani is, but anyone who is in a different financial league would be great, as they could (and hopefully would) eventually squeeze out G+H even if it were only in stages...

If you translate it another way, they could be seen as hoping to be bought out, lock stock and barrel judging by what the article says about their approach, and this guy may be willing to do that as (a) he can afford it if the interest is real and (b) he's reputedly smart enough to know what he's about in dealing with schmucks.

 

If his interest is real, we would open up a global 'face' for him - we could end up a rich man's egoistic 'trophy' - I dunno - maybe that's where we're at and what it takes now....maybe I'm being unfair to him. I dare say we'lll find out in time if it's a goer.

[Stevie H]

fingers crossed.

aye. he sounds rich enough to sort out the stadium debacle as well which might add more weight to the RBS pressure on G&H thing.

[fyds]

aye. he sounds rich enough to sort out the stadium debacle as well which might add more weight to the RBS pressure on G&H thing.

Again, if his interest is genuine, even Bill and Ted must realise this is the best chance they're ever likely to get of walking away with a substantive profit now.

[Zoob]

Particularly in light of the credit market meltdown, the financial institutions must have a good understanding of the hole Hicks is currently in. - Sounds like he's no longer able to rob Peter to pay Paul. I'd love to know what his total debts are and what assets he actually has left

 

 

This here

 

suggesting (unsurprisingly) that he's being forced to sell the Dallas stars by the company whose loans he defaulted on last year.

 

The President of the Dallas stars, Jeff Cogen, talking to ESPN:

"... said Thursday the club has had "seasonal cash flow needs," but he doesn't know if Hicks Sports Group has hired an investment adviser to put the club on the market ... Cogen confirmed that the Stars have had struggles since they were separated financially from the Texas Rangers."

 

 

Interesting to see comments from one fan who thinks the Stars are in a mess because of Hicks's debts with Liverpool. Another saying how the Stars are now in the bottom 5 in the NHL in terms of wages.

 

The whole thing smells of a complete house of cards, that looks like it could totally collapse at any moment- what I find strange is that by all accounts Hicks is still asking for a completely unrealistic price for LFC, even though he appears to be in such financial trouble.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Zoob

[fyds]

Particularly in light of the credit market meltdown, the financial institutions must have a good understanding of the hole Hicks is currently in. - Sounds like he's no longer able to rob Peter to pay Paul. I'd love to know what his total debts are and what assets he actually has left

 

 

This here

 

suggesting (unsurprisingly) that he's being forced to sell the Dallas stars by the company whose loans he defaulted on last year.

 

The President of the Dallas stars, Jeff Cogen, talking to ESPN:

"... said Thursday the club has had "seasonal cash flow needs," but he doesn't know if Hicks Sports Group has hired an investment adviser to put the club on the market ... Cogen confirmed that the Stars have had struggles since they were separated financially from the Texas Rangers."

 

 

Interesting to see comments from one fan who thinks the Stars are in a mess because of Hicks's debts with Liverpool. Another saying how the Stars are now in the bottom 5 in the NHL in terms of wages.

 

The whole thing smells of a complete house of cards, that looks like it could totally collapse at any moment- what I find strange is that by all accounts Hicks is still asking for a completely unrealistic price for LFC, even though he appears to be in such financial trouble.

He's a chancer in a game of brinkmanship...though by several reports of late (decide on their accuracy for yourself) high as the price might be, it's considerably lower than what DIC offered only a year ago (£500m) with some saying it's around £350m. One thing's sure, when he does go, unless someone is desperate to get hold of us in a dumb way it won't be anything so close to what he really wants. There have been suggestions in the US that he's pretty much got to sell just about everything sooner or later as the debts keep mounting.

[nashman]

Even though he was born into a rich family, Mukesh Ambani has shown good business acumen in taking his dad's business to the next level. He is the owner of the Mumbai indians in the IPL and has been a decent owner so far. Has remained in the background and backed the team with money during the player auctions.

[fyds]

Even though he was born into a rich family, Mukesh Ambani has shown good business acumen in taking his dad's business to the next level. He is the owner of the Mumbai indians in the IPL and has been a decent owner so far. Has remained in the background and backed the team with money during the player auctions.

That already puts him several notches above our current pairing.

[lfc4eva99]

Fingers Crossed.

[Ramón Benítez Hernández]

Hope this is Hicks and Gillet's tikka out of here.

[Stevie H]

five hours. five whole hours we managed without regurgitating the curry puns. it'll f***ing plummet now won't it.

[Red2Core]

Refuses to get hopes up.

[Jonesy]

this is depressing reading, it almost put me in a korma

[Earl Hafler]

The Rise and Fal of Hicks & Gillett

 

 

I know very little about the alleged buyer but could he be any worse than what we have now ?

[Dule]

Please god, be true, anyone is better than these 2 f***ing idiots.

[redjersey]

Naan of this will turn out to be true.

[psl]

Naan of this will turn out to be true.

 

Already been denied according to Sky.