An ownership change seemed all set in the sale of Liverpool FC, but recent developments have complicated that effort after current owners called the proposed $476 million deal an “epic swindle.”
According to The Dallas Observer, Liverpool co-owner and former Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks has found a federal judge in Texas willing to enforce a temporary restraining order that would effectively block the sale of Liverpool to New England Sports Ventures (NESV) for now.
The injunction stems from Hicks’ decision to file suit against the Liverpool board, NESV and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Hicks claims he is not getting the appropriate market value for the club.
Here is a statement from LeMaster Group, Hicks’ PR firm:
The suit lays out the defendants’ “epic swindle” in which they conspired to devise and execute a scheme to sell LFC to NESV at a price they know to be hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value (and well below Forbes magazine’s recent independent $822 million valuation of the club) — and below multiple expressions of interest and offers to buy either the club in its entirety or make minority investments (including Meriton and Mill Financial).
All this comes on the heels of Monday’s decision in which a judge from London’s High Court blocked a previous attempt to stop the sale.
