American Duo Go 50:50 On Liverpool - 04/02/2007

Tom Hicks, co-founder of the US investment firm Hicks Muse, Tate and Furst is dipping into his personal fortune to provide half the equity for George Gillett's purchase of Liverpool FC. The involvement of Hicks turned a flagging bid into one that was a credible alternative to the offer from Dubai. It was Randy Lerner's summer takeover of Villa that planted a seed in the mind of Hicks. An intermediary suggested Manchester City or Newcastle United, but then came up with Liverpool. A source close to Liverpool told the Financial Times, 'Mr Gillett is very wealthy but you need quite a bit of wealth to take the club to the next level. No one is going to do an Abramovich but with this you have more than doubled the wealth of the backers.' Mr Hicks, who owns the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars ice hockey side, has experience in stadium construction and development, another factor crucial for the Liverpool board with the planned move to Stanley Park. The reaction from supporters, who had been sold on the Dubai bid by glowing references from chief executive Rick Parry, has been largely negative. Richard Pedder, chairman of the official supporters club said that he was 'devastated'. One of the more printable comments on the Liverpool fans' message boards was 'I don't want some money making Yank buying our club for profit.' Nevertheless, Liverpool are destined to become the third American owned club in the Premiership within a couple of weeks.