As many as six potential investors may have submitted bids for Liverpool. Three of them are thought to be Kenny Huang, the Rhone Group and the Syrian-led consortium of Yahya Kirdi. The board will name a preferred bidder by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, RBS have issued a statement to wire services denying that they have held talks with any bidder for the club which would include Kenny Huang who is reported to have claimed that he had started direct discussions with the bank.
As many as six potential investors may have submitted bids for Liverpool. Three of them are thought to be Kenny Huang, the Rhone Group and the Syrian-led consortium of Yahya Kirdi. The board will name a preferred bidder by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, RBS have issued a statement to wire services denying that they have held talks with any bidder for the club which would include Kenny Huang who is reported to have claimed that he had started direct discussions with the bank.
One view is that the current owners would like to play all these bidders off against each other. The next television contract and the growth of broadand and the potential for streaming every game live across different platforms promises to boost revenues and increase Liverpool’s value. So a lot depends on RBS putting pressure on the club to do a deal.
A Far Eastern bid would make a lot of sense. Liverpool first developed links there with their shirt sponsorship with Hitachi in 1979. Their latest sponsor is Standard Chartered, a bank whose greatest market penetration is in Asia.
The real market that Liverpool have yet to penetrate is China with its 1.3 billion people. The latest televsion deal by the Premier League with WinTV will mean that at least one match is screened every week in China free to air. With the right connections there is potential for Liverpool to become the most followed club in China.