There has been wild speculation over the future ownership of Liverpool Football Club, most notably prospective buyout by Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang. He was first linked to the club in 2008 but was put off by the 650m valuation; the club is currently valued at 350m.
Chairman of Hong Kong based QSL Sports Group, Huang has the financial backing of a wealthy investment fund behind him. The move could see an end to Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr’s controversial ownership of the club.
RBS have insisted the owners are obliged to consider any offer for the club due to their 237m debt. Huang has offered to buy the debt from RBS in order to seal the deal, but the American owners have told RBS that they are in negotiations with former football international and Syrian Businessman Yahra Kirdi, this is expected to be an attempt to prise more money from the Chinese.
Huang’s current offer would make no profit for Hicks and Gillett from the sale of the club which they bought in 2007 for 218.9m, they are reportedly hoping for an offer in the region of600m.
Earlier in the year the club appointed Roy Hodgson as manager, he has explained that the uncertainty of the club needs to be resolved before it is too late, preferably to bring in new players before the transfer window. If there is no successful buyout, RBS could request a percentage of their loan and potentially push the club into administration.
There has been some controversy surrounding Huang’s bid as he is said to be backed by the Chinese government particularly because of the clubs popularity in the country and the readily available capital.
However if Huang does secure possession of the club and has government backing, it will mean a great deal of investment for Liverpool, more money for players and an ability to charge larger amounts for sponsorship contracts as their games will undoubtedly be viewed in great numbers in china, particularly if they conveniently sign some Chinese talent.
If the buy out goes ahead there’s a chance we could see a new, Chinese sponsor on the Liverpool football shirt and possibly a Chinese alternative to the popular Adidas Predators boots that many of the players favour.