Gillette-Hicks Cannot Stop Liverpool FC Takeover Now

LIVERPOOL FC owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett appear to have lost control at Anfield – even before the likely sale of the club before the end of this month.
The unpopular Americans are unlikely to have the final word on who replaces them in the hot-seat as club owners, the Daily Post can reveal.
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton is understood to have received assurances from both Hicks and Gillett that they will not stand in the way of his recommendation for new owner.
The Americans will accede to the wishes of Broughton as long as he has the joint backing of the remaining two board members, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre. In reality, their three board votes would defeat the Americans’ two, if they took a joint stance.
That appears to make it ever clearer that Hicks and Gillett lost full control at Anfield as soon as Mr Broughton arrived on the board in April this year with a remit to sell the club.
It has always been denied that Mr Broughton was appointed at the behest of Liverpool’s chief creditors, Royal Bank of Scotland, but what is clear is that they are fully behind the sale process being overseen by the British Airways chairman.
A source familiar with the situation said he enjoys the “confidence” of RBS.
Six bidders are being analysed by Mr Broughton and his team to see which offers the best long-term deal for the club.
One of those is Chinese businessman Kenny Huang, who is offering around £325m – far short of the £600m-plus price tag the Americans would like to sell for.
The club has a total debt of around £350m, with £237m of that owed to RBS. Any successful offer from Mr Huang is likely to have to involve paying off the total debts.
Yesterday, more details of Mr Huang’s business dealings emerged.
Widespread reports that he owns 15% in the NBA basketball side Cleveland Cavaliers are wide of the mark, but he is heavily involved in the commercial rights and advertising in China's National Basketball League.
His company, QSL Sports Limited, also has the “exclusive contract to promote, reform and manage NBL in collaboration with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)”.
It is not believed a deal on LFC is imminent as the due diligence process being overseen by Mr Broughton is not straightforward. He has made it clear it is not simply a matter of accepting the highest bid, but rather assessing who is involved in the different consortiums, where the money is coming from, how much is being borrowed, and how much cash will be available for players and the crucial new stadium.