Liverpool Considers Two Bids - 26/11/2006

It was recently suggested on this page that Liverpool might be the next Premiership club to be sold to foreign owners and the club is currently in discussions with US sports entrepreneur George Gillett and Dubai Capital International. The Liverpool saga has been going on for two years and the willingness of 51 per cent majority shareholder Frank Moores to sell the team seems to ebb and flow with the team's fortunes on the field. When the team is playing well, he is less interested in selling shares. He is thought to want £500m, including £200m for the new Stanley Park stadium, but also wants to retain a minority stake in the club. George Gillett is reported to have offered $978m Canadian (£446m), divided between buying out existing shareholders, paying off debts and building the new stadium. Gillett used to own the Harlem Globetrotters before he acquired Montreal ice hockey team the Canadiens. The Colorado-based entrepreneur has seen an increase in the value of the team, but also appears to have gone down well in Quebec, not the easiest place for an English native speaker to make friends. The authoritative Montreal Gazette commented, 'Despite early concerns about an American owning the team, Gillett has been a model owner. He has wisely allowed the hockey people to run the operation'. However, a sticking point is that Gillett wants complete control which is why the Liverpool board might eventually favour the Dubai bid.