Liverpool was offered for sale to Bill Gates, "in an exhaustive attempt to find a buyer and end the flawed regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett," according to Paul Joyce of the LONDON TIMES. The approach to Gates -- and a separate one to NFL New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft -- is "disclosed in legal documents arising from the continuing court battle between a company called Mill Financial and Gillett and the Royal Bank of Scotland." The 10th anniversary of Hicks and Gillett’s takeover of Liverpool "fell at the start of the week." The U.S. businessmen "eventually agreed to sell the club" in April '10 and appointed Barclays Capital to "find potential suitors" with documents at the commercial division of the N.Y. County Supreme Court "detailing the approach to Gates as part of a worldwide trawl for interest." Gates, who co-founded Microsoft and whose net worth is estimated at $85.2B, "never responded to the overtures." Kraft had "first turned down the chance to buy Liverpool" from David Moores in '05 and "again rebuffed the opportunity" (LONDON TIMES, 2/8). ESPN.com's Glenn Price reported in a deposition, Martin Broughton, who was then the Liverpool chair, was asked whether he was aware that "there was at least an attempt to contact Bill Gates and Bob Kraft in the U.S." and replied, "Correct." Broughton was then asked whether he was aware that Barclays Capital was presenting "efforts being made for investors in Hong Kong, Norway." He said that the search for new owners "covered every continent" and involved "contacts with people around the world" (ESPN.com, 2/8).
