Fans Rejoice As Blackstone Hits Hicks For A Six

Talks between Liverpool's co-
owner Tom Hicks and Blackstone
over a refinancing of the club's
debt have broken down.
Blackstone Group, the private
equity firm said to be on the
verge of backing Tom Hicks in his
last ditch bid to retain control of
Liverpool FC in the face of fierce
fan opposition, is understood to
have ended all talks with the
Texan.
Hicks had approached GSO
Capital Partners, the debt
restructuring arm of the private
equity group, to secure the funds
required to repay the £237m
outstanding to the Royal Bank of
Scotland in the middle of next
month and remain in control of
the club.
It had been reported that a
£280m, two-year package had
been agreed in principle. But it is
understood that, although talks
took place between GSO and
Hicks, they ended without a firm
offer on the table. The Guardian
has learned that GSO has now
walked away and there is no
chance of the Blackstone
subsidiary lending Hicks the
money. Liverpool fans' groups
over the weekend made clear the
depth of their hostility to the idea
that Hicks could be bailed out by
GSO, effectively buying him more
time to find a new investor
willing to pay a premium on the
£218.9m the Americans paid for
the club in 2007.
Hicks met with the club's
chairman, Martin Broughton, and
the rest of the Liverpool board
last week to outline his plan. RBS,
which throughout has
maintained that it wishes to find
a solution that is in the best long
term interests of the club, would
nevertheless have no further say
in the matter if its loan was
repaid in full.
Hicks and George Gillett put
Liverpool up for sale in April, with
RBS parachuting in Broughton to
lead the sale process. But despite
a series of high profile
approaches, from Rhone Capital
and Kenny Huang, no proper bid
was ever lodged.
Hicks had hoped that the funding
would allow him to take full
control, pay down the debt and
provide funds for players. Now
that Blackstone has walked away,
it leaves him desperately
searching for a replacement loan
before the mid-October
refinancing deadline. It would
also see Gillett's 50% stake
diluted, with the Colorado-native
staying at Liverpool in an inactive
role.
A first attempt by Hicks to
refinance the debt was rejected
earlier this year by the Liverpool
board to allow Barclays Capital to
continue the ongoing search for
a buyer. If Hicks approached the
board with a new proposal, it is
believed that they would also
look to block it, although lawyers
are split on whether they would
be able to do so under company
law.