SOCCER:CHRISTIAN PURSLOW, Liverpool's former managing director, described New England Sports Ventures' (NESV) original offer to buy the club as a "bottom of the barrel" deal, it has been revealed in court.
In an email sent to fellow directors a month before NESV bought Liverpool for some €350 million, Purslow, who left the club soon after the takeover in October, initially cast doubt on the group’s ability to pay off the debt left by the then owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to build a new stadium and to invest in the squad.
The only positive was that NESV “existed”, he wrote, albeit at the start of the negotiating process and his comments do not relate to the deal was ultimately struck.
Purslow’s email emerged at the high court where NESV, the former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and the Royal Bank of Scotland are seeking to extend indefinitely an injunction that prevents Hicks and Gillett suing for damages abroad.
When Liverpool’s owner, now called Fenway Sports Group, completed its takeover last year it eliminated all the acquisition debt placed on the club by Hicks and Gillett. Plans for a new stadium, however, are under review with a redevelopment of Anfield under consideration.
In the email sent to his fellow directors on September 15th, 2010, Purslow wrote: “To get it straight, I think we should avoid the natural temptation to jump straight in to the deal with NESV. Whilst they are charming, intelligent and credible, their bid is by any standards at the extreme bottom end of the “right deal” threshold we set for ourselves: it only reduces debt by less than half and is I feel unlikely to yield incremental equity to fund a stadium.
“They may say they have money if necessary but I do not take this very seriously. Their eyes only lit up at the idea of other opportunity improvements. An American deal guy simply can’t avoid using other people’s money if they can.
“New American owners with the senior guy being a hedge fund manager could not be worst [sic] from an image standpoint, which is an issue for us independents.
“So what is positive? Answer, they exist. Which is not a lot, but it is not to be underestimated.”
The case continues.
