Reds 'close' to DIC takeover

12 April 2012

Liverpool sources insist that the takeover of the club by Dubai International Capital could be confirmed "within weeks," despite counter-claims that American bidder George Gillett was about to start an examination of the club's books.

And a successful deal with DIC would mean that work on the club's new stadium in Stanley Park could start in March, with a two-year completion date.

Gillett, the owner of Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club who has already had a bid to buy the club rejected by David Moores, has recently written to the Liverpool chairman offering an increased deal.

It was announced on national TV on Wednesday night that Gillett had been granted permission to start a process of due diligence.

However, Liverpool sources distanced themselves from such a move and claim they are soldering on with the conclusion of negotiations with DIC, who are intent on completing their £450million move to gain control of the Anfield club.

The latest move by Gillett, who is able to study the club's finances legally because he is a bidder, is considered to be a red herring by the Liverpool hierarchy as they move towards the successful completion of their negotiations with DIC.

A source said: "It doesn't really matter what George Gillett does, he is able to see the club's books because he is a bidder for the club.

"But the club will continue working with DIC and are close to a satisfactory conclusion."

It is expect that within a couple of weeks DIC will be in a position to announce through the Stock Exchange that they have had a bid accepted for Moores' 51% holding.

That would trigger the sale of the rest of the club's shares to DIC and the agreement to start work on the 60,000 new stadium.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in