Financial Details Emerge On Purchase Of Premier League Club

Gillett (l) And Hicks Borrowing Almost $576M For Takeover Of Liverpool FC

Stars and MLB Rangers Owner Tom Hicks and Canadiens Owner George Gillett Jr. have borrowed almost $576M (all figures converted to U.S. dollars) from the Royal Bank of Scotland to finance their takeover of Liverpool, according to David Conn of the Manchester GUARDIAN. The two are borrowing $357M to pay for the $336M takeover and associated costs, with another $218M in revolving credit “to absorb Liverpool’s debts and fund the club and preliminary work on the new 60,000-seat stadium.” Another $386M will be borrowed to build the stadium. The initial loans “are guaranteed by Hicks and Gillett personally.” The bank has loaned the money at 1.5% above the current standard lending rate, “meaning that about [$41.5M in] interest will be payable this year” (Manchester GUARDIAN, 3/14). Rob Tilliss, the financial adviser for Hicks and Gillett, “was reluctant to be drawn on whether [they] would seek to make money themselves out of the club.” Tilliss: “If you get things right on the field, and invest in the stadium the player roster and the youth academy, maybe eventually there will be a return of some sort” (BLOGS.GUARDIAN.co.uk, 3/14).