New England Sports Ventures complete Liverpool deal
NEW England Sports Ventures finally completed its £300m takeover of Liverpool Football Club, today bringing to an end one of the most chaotic periods in its history.
New owner John W Henry told reporters in London: “I am proud and humble. We have a lot of work to do. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have finally got to this point.
“We have a lot to learn, but our actions will hopefully speak for us, we have a lot of listening to do. We are here to win.”
Mr Henry said borrowed money was not being used to finance the deal. He said it was “too early” to comment on whether the club would move to the new stadium.
The transaction eliminates all of the acquisition debt placed on the club by Hicks and Gillett, reducing interest payments from £25m-£30m a year to £2m-£3m.
The deal – first announced more than a week ago – was sealed in London this afternoon after previous owners Texans George Gillett and Tom Hicks conceded defeat after a tense Transatlantic legal battle.
Liverpool will now be virtually free of debt thanks to the takeover owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
A deadline for Liverpool to repay Royal Bank of Scotland £237m was due to expire this afternoon.
Although conceding that they were powerless to stop the sale to NESV, Hicks and Gillett maintain they will sue the Liverpool board, the new owner and lender RBS for $1.6bn, claiming they sold the club too cheaply and had taken part in an ‘epic swindle’.
They claimed they had wanted to repay RBS today, but the bank had refused to deal with them.
Chairman Martin Broughton said he was ‘delighted’ the deal had gone through.
He told the club’s website: “The board decided to accept NESV’s offer on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a new owner. NESV is buying Liverpool in order to put it on an excellent financial footing and continue to develop it internationally.
“This is a good deal which comprehensively resolves the pressing issue of the club’s debt and should give staff, players and fans great confidence regarding the future of Liverpool FC.”
Fans groups welcomed the sale. James McKenna of the Spirit of Shankly movement said: “It has been a nightmare, it (the legal battle) has done untold damage to the reputation of the club.”
