A High Court ruling yesterday paved the way for Liverpool to be sold for £300 million (RM1.49 billion) to New England Sports Ventures (NESV) before owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks obtained a temporary block in a Texas district court.
Back to London came the lawyers representing Liverpool board members Martin Broughton, Ian Ayre and Christian Purslow and the club’s chief creditor Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in an attempt to get past the American court ruling, which some English legal experts considered a stop-gap measure unlikely to last until its October 25 deadline.
The case got underway with considerably less fanfare than yesterday’s hearing in the same court 18, when supporters crowded for space with journalists and cheered the decision to allow the sale as if their club had ended their 20-year league title drought.
Less impressed with the club’s determination to link up with the owners of the Boston Red Sox was Lim, who had bid £320 million pounds (RM1.59 billion) for the club after having originally offered the same amount as NESV.
“It has become clear to me that the Board is intent on selling the club to NESV to the exclusion of all other parties, regardless of the merits of their bids,” Lim said in a statement.
“In these circumstances, I am not able to proceed with my intention to acquire the club.
