Source: PA
Lim pulls out of Reds race
Singapore businessman Peter Lim has withdrawn from the race to acquire Liverpool after claiming he was "ignored" by the club's board - but he has not ruled out returning at a later date.
The billionaire lodged an improved bid of £320million - bettering the accepted offer from New England Sports Ventures (NESV) by £20million - on Tuesday morning.
Lim felt the board should have given more consideration to his bid, in which he also promised to provide manager Roy Hodgson with a £40million transfer kitty for January.
However, the High Court ruling - pursued by the club's major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland - paved the way for the NESV deal to go through. Even the Texas court temporary restraining order obtained by owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett did not enhance Lim's chances as the American duo made the claim there are better bids waiting to be made.
Lim has now given up his current bid to takeover from Hicks and Gillett, although he has indicated it is not the end of his interest.
He said in a statement: "It has become clear to me the board is intent on selling the club to NESV to the exclusion of all other parties, regardless of the merits of their bids. In these circumstances, I am not able to proceed with my intention to acquire the club. If current events cause the circumstances to change, my interest in acquiring the club remains."
