Liverpool Takeover Stalls Over Cost
A Kuwaiti investment group linked to takeover talks with Liverpool has stated that negotiations are ‘going really badly’ due to the Premier League club’s over-inflated asking price.
The statement by the group, which could be seen as gamesmanship as part of the takeover talks, claimed that the demands of Liverpool’s US co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were simply too steep.
Gillett and Hicks, who themselves have fallen out over the future direction of the club, are believed to be asking in the region of £500m for the club.
It is understood Hicks would ideally like to find an investment partner to buy Gillett’s stake and allow him to remain in control.
Abdulla Al-Sager, one of the possible investors in the consortium headed by Kuwait’s Al-Kharafi family, commented: ‘Things are going really badly, because they are asking for too much. I don’t think anything will happen unless we get a better price.’
Hicks and Gillett are also under pressure from the banks over their existing loan agreements and will be forced to restructure the club’s debts in July unless a takeover is finalised.
