Tom Hicks is seriously angling for full control of Liverpool FC:
On the eve of Liverpool's clash with Manchester United, the depth of the crisis now threatening Anfield has seen Hicks plan to buy out George Gillett and refinance the Royal Bank of Scotland debt, effectively taking full control of the club.
"It is sure to lead to extortionate interest rates, which will leave Liverpool more in hock than ever before,'' a banking source told ESPNsoccernet. ''It is a recipe for disaster for the club but it would give Hicks the time he needs to sell the club for the price he is trying to get."
If financial sources are correct, this may be worse than anything Hicks did to the Stars or Rangers.
'If Blackstone's GSO [a specialist off-shoot that deals with companies in big financial trouble], lent Hicks the money, it is like buying a lottery ticket for Hicks,'' the source added. ''If the term is two years, or anything up to five years, he has bought that time to find a buyer at the terms he wants.
"For Liverpool it would mean bigger interest fees, bigger interest repayments, and by the end of the term, Blackstone's could end up owning the club and Hicks would have to walk away, if he cannot find a buyer.
''If Hicks extends his control by pulling off this refinancing then Liverpool will become the next Leeds United.''
If Hicks is putting the club in drastically worse financial condition, I wonder how much he can actually improve his selling price? And, as usual, I am just grateful that the Rangers are free of these sorts of antics.
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