QUOTE
Partnership deal to purchase Liverpool
AMERICANS Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who each own National Hockey League teams, will split the $US450million ($580m) cost of buying soccer giant Liverpool, the Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.
Gillett, who owns the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, and Hicks, who owns the NHL's Dallas Stars as well as Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers, will each pay $US225m to buy the Premiership side, the paper reported.
A formal announcement of the deal could be made as early as next week.
The deal is believed to be the first time two owners of rival sports clubs in one league have combined to buy a team in another, a move that could set a pattern for US millionaires to take over teams worldwide.
Yesterday's report came after Dubai International Capital (DIC), the investment arm of the Gulf Emirate, pulled out of negotations on a takeover of the Anfield outfit after the club's board asked for more time to examine a rival bid.
DIC said it regretted having to end negotiations on what would have been a pound stg. 450m ($1.1billion) investment in the five-time European champion.
DIC had proposed to pay around pound stg. 155m to buy out the current Liverpool shareholders as well as taking over pound stg. 80 million in debt and financing the construction of a new 60,000-seat stadium in time for the 2009-10 season.
The deal had looked set to be concluded smoothly until Tuesday evening, when the Liverpool board asked for more time to consider a rival bid by Gillett.
Liverpool has won 18 league crowns and five European Cup titles in a history dating to 1892. The Reds are in third place in the Premiership, trailing Manchester United and Chelsea.
It seems that DIC pulled out (bad for Liverpool, I think).
Any american or canadian in the forum knows anything about those 2 americans: Gillett and Hicks?