Published>Thu, Oct 14 10 05:16 AM
The Liverpool board's attempts to sell the club hit more obstacles on Wednesday when the American owners launched a last-ditch bid to stop a sale despite a High Court judge having ruled they could not block it.
The board remained determined to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox, but while it met to discuss the details a Texas court granted the owners a temporary injuction on the sale.
Months of uncertainty appeared to be drawing to a close earlier in the day when the ruling cleared the sale of the debt-laden Premier League club and red-clad fans celebrated outside the court that they would soon have new owners.
They will have to wait, though, after American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett filed a lawsuit, claiming damages of $1.6 billion for the "epic swindle" of trying to sell the club at a knockdown price.
"The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed," Liverpool said in a statement on their website (www.liverpoolfc.tv).
Before the London hearing, the board was in the process of agreeing a 300 million-pound ($477.2 million) sale to NESV ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline to repay over 200 million pounds worth of debt.
It had also received an increased 320 million-pound offer from Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, who confirmed he was still interested in the deal.
"They conspired to devise and execute a scheme to sell LFC to NESV at a price they know to be hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value (and well below Forbes magazine's recent independent $822 million valuation of the club)," a statement issued by Hicks's spokesman Mark Semer said.
'JUSTICE DONE'
Earlier in the day, fans wearing the club's red shirts and scarves had pushed with journalists to get into the tiny oak-panelled court room to hear Justice Floyd deliver his almost hour-long verdict.
The stone corridors around Court 18 were also teeming with spectators straining to hear and make sense of the judgment.
"We're delighted with the result," chairman Martin Broughton said after emerging from court, shouting over the noise of singing fans. "Justice has been done. This will clear the way for the sale."
The ownership battle engulfing one of the world's most famous sporting institutions ended up in court after Hicks and Gillett tried to sack members of the board last week in a another late bid to keep control of the club.
The judge said the pair had been guilty of the "clearest possible breach" of corporate governance rules and did not grant the pair the right to appeal although they can still go to the Court of Appeal.
NESV maintained this week that they had a binding agreement to buy the club.
"We are ready to move quickly and help create the stability and certainty which the club needs at this time," NESV said. "It is time to return the focus to the club itself and performances on the pitch."
If the repayment date with major creditor the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) had been missed, the five-times European champions could have been put into administration and docked nine points.
"This morning's announcement means that the possibility of administration is now highly unlikely and the smart money is on the deal with NESV now going through," Gerald Krasner, a partner at insolvency and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor said.
On the field, the 18-times English champions are struggling as they sit in the relegation zone and players are looking forward to turning things around on the pitch.
"It seems things are nearly sorted off the pitch so we need to start getting them right on it by getting three points at Goodison (Park) on Sunday," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said on the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.tv) referring to the derby at Everton.
"I know how frustrated the fans have been with what has been going on and I can understand their feelings. But we've all suffered in this, especially the supporters, and now it's time for us all to pull together and help move the club forward."
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