Liverpool Takeover Thread

Raymond Lin · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:00

The Liverpool supporters at work thinks H&G are winning, and one colleage has jokingly said "Championship here we come!".

Their professional (lawyers) opinion is that H&G are winning the legal argument.

Alpherah · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:03

Ruling is delayed - LFC Board given time to speak.
Here come the big guns

2.57pm: Lord Grabiner QC is now speaking on behalf of the Liverpool board. He tells the court the two alternative offers for the club are "besides the mark" as it is the role of the board to find a buyer, so if they decide to go for NESV then so be it.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:03

Raymond Lin said:
Their professional (lawyers) opinion is that H&G are winning the legal argument.

I'm getting the same feeling myself (but Im not a lawyer), sounds like it might be time for Martin Broughton to bring out his "Plan B" that he claims to have!

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:03

Another pearoast

platypus · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:04

Even if the board win, surely H&G will just appeal?

Stretch · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:04

Raymond Lin said:
The Liverpool supporters at work thinks H&G are winning, and one colleage has jokingly said "Championship here we come!".

Their professional (lawyers) opinion is that H&G are winning the legal argument.

Is that the legal argument that H&G can sack the board or that the board should be given more time to find a better offer?

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:06

Lord Grabiner QC for the Liverpool board: If H&G have accepted they must sell the club and simply want it done in the right way (as they QC said they have) then why are they not merely claiming for damages instead of trying to hold on to a "unique asset" (ie Liverpool FC).

Alpherah · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:07

I like this guy already!

shine · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:08

platypus said:
Even if the board win, surely H&G will just appeal?

They can but there is a deadline for the money to be paid back. Unless Hicks (and it is Hicks now as Gillette has lost his share in LFC) can refinance this week there are no offers on the table that offer him a better deal. He stands to lose money unless he can refinance.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:10

shine said:
He stands to lose money unless he can refinance.

Lets hope that all campaigns that have been taking place have been enough to discourage anyone for loaning him any more money.....ever!!!

antijoke · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:10

I'm starting to think MB knows bigger people than H&G.

I do hope we get to find out what Plan B is.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:13

In Hicks's letter/witness statement to the court he writes that during telephone meeting the board had at the start of last week (the one which broke down at adjournment), Hicks Jr was involved. Lord Grabiner questions why this happened as "Hicks Minor" is not on the board.

antijoke · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:15

Does Lim basically have no chance of buying LFC?

This all seems very very bizarre, that things are going to NESV, then the court battle and Lim pops up.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:22

Apparantly....

On BBC R5 last night there was a suggestion that Broughton, Ayre and Purslow went for the NESV offer because they got a half million payoff from it. This could be a conflict of interest and give Hicks+Gillett a case that they did not choose the best offer.

Don't know how true that is though!

Stretch · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:28

anticonscience said:
Does Lim basically have no chance of buying LFC?

This all seems very very bizarre, that things are going to NESV, then the court battle and Lim pops up.

I supsect it's to throw a spanner in the works.

dhill said:
Apparantly....

On BBC R5 last night there was a suggestion that Broughton, Ayre and Purslow went for the NESV offer because they got a half million payoff from it. This could be a conflict of interest and give Hicks+Gillett a case that they did not choose the best offer.

Don't know how true that is though!

If that's true they're in serious trouble. I doubt it is though.

xxalxx · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:30

dhill said:
Apparantly....

On BBC R5 last night there was a suggestion that Broughton, Ayre and Purslow went for the NESV offer because they got a half million payoff from it. This could be a conflict of interest and give Hicks+Gillett a case that they did not choose the best offer.

Don't know how true that is though!

anticonscience said:
Does Lim basically have no chance of buying LFC?

This all seems very very bizarre, that things are going to NESV, then the court battle and Lim pops up.

I suspect diversionary tactics from H&G legal team.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:31

Dan Roan

Tension mounting-Lord Grabiner qc now speaking for LFC - says H&G guilty of "slippery behaviour"

shine · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:31

dhill said:
Apparantly....

On BBC R5 last night there was a suggestion that Broughton, Ayre and Purslow went for the NESV offer because they got a half million payoff from it. This could be a conflict of interest and give Hicks+Gillett a case that they did not choose the best offer.

Don't know how true that is though!

If that was true then it would have been mentioned in the court today.

dhill · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:34

Lord Grabiner says correspondence between board and owner prove that H&G knew of the meeting on 5 October and instead they simply refused to turn up and not, as their QC says, that they were excluded from it by the "sub-committee".

Lord Grabiner describes the owners as "slippery" because they wanted a one week adjournment to that meeting knowing full well that NESV's deadline for their offer to expired on 5 October.

Also, Hicks had a lawyer, Bruce Toth, listening to that meeting via telephone as an observer, destroying their argument that they were excluded from that crucial meeting.

Weebull · 12 Oct 2010 at 15:36

This bloke seems to be blowing most of H&G's claims out of the water quite neatly.