Liverpool have 11 days to consider the take-it-or-leave it offer for the club made by the Chinese businessman who says he is backed by sovereign funds, although doubts remain about whether this bid, or one of as many as five others, will be successful, with the club's investment bankers indicating a preferred bid will be selected by next week.
Some critical details of Kenny Huang's bid remain vague, including the precise nature of the Chinese state-owned investment funds which sources close to him claim will deliver the money. It is also unclear whether the trenchant opposition from Liverpool co-owner George Gillett, which is probably shared by his partner at Anfield, Tom Hicks – Huang's bid which could see them make a loss on their initial investment in the club – will prevent the Liverpool board from sanctioning them.
But the club's non-executive chairman Martin Broughton and investment bank Barclays Capital, who are leading the sale of Liverpool, do consider the bid to be credible. Mr Huang has imposed a deadline of Friday-week because he and his backers want enough time to give Roy Hodgson money to spend in the summer transfer market before it closes on 1 September.
It appears Broughton believes he can drive through a deal in the face of opposition from Hicks and Gillett. Having taken up his position on the understanding that a three-man majority on the Liverpool board would be enough to see Hicks and Gillett voted down, it remains unclear whether he has some duty to the Americans who hired him. Broughton, Hicks, Gillett, Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre each have a vote.
The bid, which would see the Chinese guaranteeing the £237m debt built up by the Americans, is certainly a serious one, although Liverpool's owners will bitterly resist a bid which would see them taking nothing from the club, despite their own £130m investment. The fact there are multiple bids under consideration reveals that the end-game has arrived for Hicks and Gillett. Broughton feels his duty is to the club rather than the owners and will not necessarily go for the highest offer, as the sale of the club to owners who ultimately prove unreliable would damage his reputation. It remains unclear whether Broughton, who will leave when a sale is completed, will be rewarded financially by the Americans for the size of the bid he agrees to.
The club's bankers, Royal Bank of Scotland, have said they are not in direct negotiations with Huang over the purchase of the club and that any bid would be referred to Liverpool, though Huang's representatives suggested that he had bypassed the Liverpool bidding process by going directly to the bank with what for Hicks and Gillett is effectively a hostile bid. In a day of denial and counter-denial, it emerged that it is a contest which is under way to become the club's preferred bidder, rather than a one-horse race for Mr Huang. Mystery surrounds the Chinese businessman's track record. He did not, as has been suggested, take a share in the Cleveland Cavaliers National Basketball Association last year.
But his representatives said he was keen to do a deal quickly to secure investment before the transfer window closes and then turn his attention to finally getting Liverpool's new 60,000-seat stadium built in Stanley Park after three years of inertia. "He wants to get it done quickly so investment can come this summer," said a source close to the bid. "Liverpool need investment in the playing squad and infrastructure and Huang wants to build the stadium. The club has an outstanding reputation but does not have the infrastructure to keep with it."
Whether or not Huang's bid proves successful, the timing of his disclosures has certainly been effective, providing a sense of movement on the ownership stalemate on the very day Fernando Torres returned to training following his summer break. Torres declared last season that Liverpool need 'four or five' new players and the movement at the club suggests there may be funds available. Securing a deal before the transfer window closes may not be straightforward, though, as the time between agreement to an individual offer and completion can be weeks.
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