John Henry targets swift end to Liverpool's High Court battle

12 October 2010 10:37
Liverpool's prospective new owner John W Henry has told fans he hopes that the ownership battle is 'sorted out soon' as the club heads to the High Court.[LNB]The 61-year-old owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise is awaiting a verdict before he can complete a £300million purchase of the club.[LNB]That legal process begins in London today when the club's major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland take current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to task over their attempts to change the structure of the board contrary to previously-agreed undertakings.[LNB] Anger: A group of Liverpool supporters gather outside the High Court[LNB] Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow arrived at the court just before 10.30am today. The case is now expected to commence at midday at the earliest.[LNB]Fans later sang the Kop anthem You'll Never Walk Alone outside on the Strand in London.[LNB]Henry is keeping a close eye on developments but he will not comment on the ongoing situation.[LNB]However, in a move which will immediately endear him to supporters who have witnessed the 'at arms length' leadership of Hicks and Gillett he has started to engage with fans on Twitter.[LNB]Big day: Martin Broughton arrives[LNB]'Hello LFC supporters,' he opened up with this morning.[LNB]That undoubtedly brought a barrage of questions and comments to which he responded: 'Thanks Yes, everyone is hoping for the best. There have been enough twists and turns. Hopefully all gets sorted out soon; LFC moves forward.[LNB]'It would be inappropriate and presumptuous at this time to respond to questions. In the interim, we're all rooting for the same thing.'[LNB]Liverpool's major creditors - the Royal Bank of Scotland - are seeking High Court confirmation that Hicks and Gillett are in breach of contract and not in a position to block a sale.[LNB]The bank secured an injunction on Friday to prevent the Americans sacking independent chairman Broughton or any other board members.[LNB]They return to court lhis morning attempting to remove the final stumbling block to a £300million takeover by New England Sports Ventures(NESV) which will see them recoup their original £237million loan to Hicks and Gillett when they bought the club in March 2007.[LNB]The emergence of Singapore billionaire Peter Lim as the man behind the Asia-based bid overlooked in favour of NESV by the Liverpool board does not change the current situation.[LNB]NESV, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise and led by Henry, have already concluded their negotiations and should RBS be successful in court, they are in a position to effect a swift change of ownership.[LNB]The bank's case isbuilt around the fact that when Hicks and Gillett renegotiated an extension to their refinancing in April to allow a sale to be completed,they agreed to certain conditions.[LNB]One of those was a change to the board which saw Broughton comein alongside Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre, giving them a three-to-two majority to prevent the Americans blocking any sale they did not feel was in their interests.[LNB] Support: Fans stand outside the courthouse on the opening day[LNB] It was also made clear Broughton was the only person who could changeboard members so when Hicks tried to sack Purslow and Ayre last week onthe eve of the meeting to approve the NESV bid, the chairman rejected the move.[LNB] 'RBS, in its capacity as lender to the Kop group of companies, received the benefit of various contractual undertakings from Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett in relation to the corporate governance arrangements thatMr Hicks and Mr Gillett agreed would apply to the Kop group of companies with effect from April 2010,' a statement from the bank read.[LNB]'Those undertakings provided for the appointment of Mr Broughton as chairman of the board and the appointment of the chief executive and commercial director of LFC to the Kop boards.[LNB]'As is well known, Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett purported to make changes to those corporate governance arrangements on October 4. This was in breach of those contractual undertakings.[LNB]'In light of that purported breach of contract, RBS sought and obtained on Friday October 8, 2010 an interim injunction (preventing theremoval of Broughton or any directors) against Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett until a further hearing scheduled for Tuesday.'[LNB] Pet sounds: A dog is draped in a Liverpool flag outside the court[LNB] It also emerged yesterday that Liverpool's owners have been technically in default of their refinancing agreement for some time, despite the repayment deadline in two days' time.[LNB]RBS have chosen, however, not to enforce that default position which would have led to Kop Holdings going into administration and risk Liverpool incurring a nine-point deduction from the Premier League.[LNB]That could still happen if Hicks and Gillett have not repaid their £280million debts by Friday's deadline, but the court hearing is not concerned with those issues.[LNB]Hicks, who with Gillett stands to lose £144million if the NESV deal goes through, has maintained no such agreements with the bank exist and therefore Broughton has no authority to reject his plan to parachute sonMack and Lori McCutcheon, who works for Hicks Holdings, onto the board.[LNB]Last week his New York-based spokesman Mark Semer told Bloomberg News: 'There were no such undertakings given to Broughton. The board hasbeen legally reconstituted and the new board does not approve of this proposed transaction.'[LNB] Liverpool head for High Court showdown as billionaire Peter Lim emerges as late bidderThe battle for Liverpool! Sportsmail's guide to Tuesday's High Court drama[LNB]  Explore more:People: Tom Hicks, Martin Broughton, John Henry, George Gillett Places: Liverpool, London, New York, Singapore, Asia Organisations: Boston Red Sox

Source: Daily_Mail