Source: Telegraph
Liverpool takeover: Christian Purslow convinced £300m buy-out will go ahead
Purslow maintained that the Liverpool board had ''done their homework'' on the American investment group, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and said that the club's £237m debt would be wiped out if the takeover, which is subject to a High Court challenge from current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, goes through next week. [LNB]He also insisted manager Roy Hodgson's job was safe and that the Liverpool fans would be given a voice should the new owners be able to complete their takeover. [LNB] Related ArticlesPoints penalty may scupper Liverpool dealLiverpool desperate for certaintyNo red carpet for new ownersNESV consult former exec over £300m bidBroughton: points loss fear 'catastrophic'Liverpool debt at heart of court battleHicks and Gillett borrowed money from the Royal Bank of Scotland to complete their purchase of Liverpool in 2007, a debt which Purslow insists would be wiped out by an NESV buy-out. [LNB]''My total priority has been to try to remove the debt which has been put on this club and which has been a cloud since February 2007," Purslow said.[LNB]''It is wrong that we should have so much of the money that comes through the turnstiles or through our commercial activity go to pay interest on loans. [LNB]''A bidder who has been willing with cash to rid of us of all this long-term debt is by far the largest and most important priority in evaluating bids. [LNB]"We have done our homework and NESV are buying this business with cash and clearing our debt which transforms our financial position overnight.'' [LNB]Hicks and Gillett have launched a legal challenge to the takeover, describing it as invalid and insisting that the offer by NESV under-valued the club. The High Court case is set to begin on Tuesday. [LNB]If the court rules in favour of Hicks and Gillett, RBS could call in their debt as early as Friday, when repayment is due in full, and force Kop Holdings into administration. [LNB]That would almost certainly result in a nine-point penalty being imposed on the club by the Premier League, which would leave them bottom of the table on minus three points. [LNB]However, Purslow said: ''I'm not even contemplating administration.'' [LNB]Purslow added that the prospect of administration had not been discussed with NESV, who own American baseball team the Boston Red Sox, and all efforts were focused on tying up the deal. [LNB]Purslow also gave an insight into why NESV had chosen Liverpool, saying: "Last Monday we had two very good offers to buy our business that would clear all our debts and I am completely focused on making sure that the sale completes. [LNB]"They (NESV) see a number of parallels with the Red Sox when they purchased them and Liverpool today and the word that jumps off the page every time we sit with them is 'winning.' [LNB]"They see winning on the field is linked to how you perform commercially off the field. They go hand in hand. It's extremely enjoyable to make sports clubs more successful. Whether you're a poor or a rich sports fan, winning is great fun and I sense both of those things when we meet with these people. [LNB]"They approached us. They met our chairman. He was immediately struck with their seriousness and the entire senior management team of NESV came to Liverpool. [LNB]"They spent a large amount of time in the club doing their work and those are important signs of people's seriousness in the transaction business."[LNB]Purslow said he was convinced NESV, fronted by businessman John W Henry, would supply cash for team building and unlike Hicks and Gillett would maintain a high-profile presence at Anfield. [LNB]Purslow said: "You don't spend £300m on buying a sports team for it to be a mediocre team. [LNB]"If they buy Liverpool I would expect them to be very visible around the business. They are serious people, they're deadly serious about wanting to succeed. I can't imagine they'd be hands-off for one minute."[LNB]
