Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Hicks and the £230 million wallet.

It was revealed yesterday that the co-owner of Liverpool FC, Tom Hicks, has asked for a loan of £230 million. This loan is supposedly for his acquisition company, Hicks Acquisition II. The newspaper article suggested that Hicks has several investors lined up for some takeover or purchase.
As revealed earlier in the year by Business Week, Hicks has set up this second company buy no information is available for what exactly it will be used for. http://j.mp/dlftTs
The figures to have a similarity to the £230 million of loan that Hicks & Gillet owe RBS. does this mean that Hicks intends on paying off the loan and splitting the club into multiple owners? Or does he intend to buy out Gillet and pay off some of the loan due on October 6th? I suppose we will not be told until the money is used.
Rules and regulations state that an acquisition company can only be running for 11 months before being liquidated and the shares redeemed. So Hicks has many more months before he is pushed to a decision.
With the bid war seemingly spiralling into trash talk, can Liverpool FC afford to see any more financial tinkering under Hicks? Should we be pressuring the board to accept the one bid that has apparently passed Due Diligence? With Kenny Huang admitting that "not scrap of paper was submitted to Liverpool FC" for CIC's bid, can we trust a board who would not release any information to the fans?
This money that Hicks has set up is a large amount and can only be planned for either Liverpool FC or another venture. If it is used for Liverpool FC then I fear for the financial security as any more money given to a man who has claimed bankruptcy is wild money.
As events off the pitch reach a low similar to that of last season, fans are left wondering if anyone will want to sort out the mess that Liverpool FC is now in. Strapped for cash and finding form difficult, we face an uncertain future, made more uncertain by the loan of £230 million to Tom Hicks. A man who has ran a once streamlined club into the ground and has bankrupted a sporting giant in the States.
We can only hold out hope and continue to fight.

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