Cash Rich Saudi Family Behind Kirdi Bid

One of the proposed bids to buy Liverpool Football Club is backed by members of the ruling family in Sharjah, the third largest of the United Arab Emirates, according to sources close to the negotiations.
A statement issued last week on behalf of the bid led by the Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi said he represents "a select group of investors from the Middle East and Canada", who were in "advanced negotiations" to buy Liverpool from the current co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Those investors were not and have still not been named, nor presented officially to Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman conducting the sale of the club. However, it has now been claimed that the investors referred to include members of the al-Qasimi family, which has ruled Sharjah for centuries. While not the richest family among the UAE ruling elite, the al-Qasimis do have access to great wealth, in a kingdom rich in crude oil and natural gas.
Kirdi is said to have authority to represent members of the family in various business dealings, an arrangement not unusual in the Gulf, and he has been negotiating directly with Hicks and Gillett, for the investors to buy Liverpool, since October.
There has been no confirmation from Sharjah that any members of the ruling family are involved in the bid, nor has any formal proof that their money is behind Kirdi been presented to Broughton. Dan Diamond, the president of GameDay, a Canadian sports consultancy which is working with Kirdi to broker a deal, would also not comment on whether the proposed investors are in fact from Sharjah.
A source close to the deal did, however, say that the buyers have now agreed in principle the terms of a deal with Hicks and Gillett, which would see the investors take charge of the club, pay off Liverpool's £237m debts to Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, and finance the building of the club's planned new stadium with a 15‑year financing arrangement.
"Plans are in place to close the deal shortly," the source said. "A proof of funds will accompany the closing of the deal in a form requested by Martin Broughton, the club's board and the owners. Everyone is focused on getting this done so that the next era in the history of Liverpool can begin."
Diamond would not comment on the speculation that Kirdi, on behalf of the investors, has agreed to pay Hicks and Gillett around $600m (£380m) for their shares in the club. However, it seems clear that this deal will deliver more value to the owners, , rather than as little as possible, as suggested last week on behalf of the proposed bid led by the Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang. Gillett and Hicks are believed to strongly favour the Kirdi-led proposal but, to date, neither proposed bid has presented formal terms, together with the identity of their investors and source of the money, to the Liverpool board, which meets tomorrow.