Rapid completion of Liverpool takeover indicates fans’ faith

LIVERPOOL’S new owners completed their takeover yesterday in a remarkable eight weeks.

The lure of the dollar has seen Liverpool fans almost falling over themselves to sell their shares at £5,000 each to George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the American sports moguls who aim to spend £470m changing the fortunes of the Anfield giants forever.

Yesterday, ahead of the Stock Exchange opening, Gillett and Hicks announced they had secured 98.6% of the club’s shares, and would now apply to take the club into private ownership, ending the need to hold annual general meetings.

It was the final act of the high-speed takeover, in sharp contrast to the controversial deal when another American, Malcolm Glazer, took control of Manchester United.

The difference between the two deals could not be a greater contrast, the Glazer family having held United shares a full two years before they mounted their takeover bid.

From the day that United’s board recommended not to accept Glazer’s original offer – October 25, 2004 – there was eight months of bitter fighting with shareholders before the Old Trafford club was finally sold in June 2005.

How different has been Liverpool’s transition into American hands. It was on January 29 when the club’s board first rejected the Dubai bid and opted to give Hicks and Gillett the chance to mount their own move.

And yesterday the sale was completed, with chairman David Moores picking up £88m for his majority shareholding. Yesterday’s Stock Exchange announcement formally rubber-stamped the takeover, with an astonishing take-up.

Under Stock Exchange rules that means the remaining handful of shares can now be compulsorily purchased and Gillett and Hicks’ offer is officially “closed.”

And Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry underlined the huge difference between the club’s own takeover and the acrimonious Glazer ownership of United. He said: “To achieve such an extraordinarily high take-up figure, with minimal fuss or controversy, is testament to the confidence that people have in Tom and George. This is a significant milestone.”

The new owners will now set about the process of sending out cheques to shareholders, with the process possibly completed by this weekend.

As co-chairmen, Hicks and Gillett plan to have their families with them at Anfield on Saturday for the home game with Arsenal. Next week they will meet Liverpool city planners to discuss ways of “tweaking” the new stadium plans for Stanley Park to eventually get the capacity up to around 75,000.

They will also meet manager Rafael Benitez on Sunday. Benitez has been promised meaningful discussions about the clubs commercial policy, his own transfer budget as well as the acquisition of more top-class youth players and the club’s training facilities.

Liverpool fans have been impressed with the manner of Hicks and Gillett’s takeover and their clear understanding of the club’s history and heritage.

Now they will want to see the colour of their money, as will Benitez wants to be able to compete in the market with Manchester United by the beginning of next season.

The Stock Exchange announcement said: “Further to the announcement made on March 13 that the offer for the entire issued share capital of Liverpool FC by George Gillett and Tom Hicks had been declared unconditional, the pair have announced today that the offer has now closed.”