Liverpool have confirmed that a takeover deal has been agreed with the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the parent company of the Red Sox, have seen a bid accepted by the Anfield board.
Current Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks had vowed to ‘resist any attempt to sell the club without due process or agreement’, and have not given their consent for a deal to be pushed through.
However, the Reds have been able to put an agreement in place – although the sale is still conditional on Premier League approval, resolution of the dispute concerning board membership and matters such as the FA’s Fit & Proper Persons Test – which has proved wildly effective so far in preventing billionaires taking over clubs, selling them a month later, leaving them with mountains of debt, riling the fans and generally acting like nutters.
Central to the takeover will be the looming dealine of paying the Royal Bank of Scotland approximately £282m, but club Chairman Martin Broughton seems confident that the takeover is just the tonic the Reds need to regain stability. Speaking to the LFC website Broughton said;
“I am delighted that we have been able to successfully conclude the sale process which has been thorough and extensive.
“The board decided to accept NESV’s proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner. NESV’s philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox.
“We’ve met them in Boston, London and Liverpool over several weeks and I am immensely impressed with what they have achieved and with their vision for Liverpool Football Club.
“By removing the burden of acquisition debt, this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team.
“I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale.”
What do you Liverpool fans think to all this? Glad to see the back of Gillett & Hicks? Or upset to see another American in charge?
we’ll see if this investment in liverpool was worth it @ the end of the season, because the transfer market is closed and right now, technically, liverpool are in a relagation batlle!
As someone who lives in Boston I hope this mean Liverpool will play a couple of pre-season friendly matches at Fenway like Celtic and Lisboa did this past summer. It was a great event and it gives me the chance to see a team that I likely wouldn’t have been able to see other wise.