Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the Americans who own Liverpool Football Club, were publicly told they had to meet their finance repayment obligations at the end of September or the Royal Bank of Scotland would take control of the club. The Royal Bank of Scotland are the bank owed the majority of the Liverpool debt. Understanding that the pair of Americans had already over extended their credit and were unlikely to find more finance it was widely anticipated that the club would have different owners very soon. After all, if the Royal Bank of Scotland proceeded with the takeover they would not do so with the intention of running the club.
The bank would take the club over and sell it to the highest bidder as soon as was feasibly possible, in order to recoup as much of the debt as they could. Liverpool fans, when hearing this news at the start of September, imagined a Royal Bank of Scotland takeover at the end of September and new long term owners taking over again within a couple of months after that. Everything was going to change for the better. Now it turns out that Tom Hicks, one half of the American pair, is searching for finance in London. It appears Hicks was in London on Friday with the intention of finding some support and therefore temporary relief from his financial obligations at Liverpool Football Club. Hicks is unwilling to sell up now for a vastly reduced price. He is also, obviously, unappreciative of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s threat. After all, if the Royal Bank of Scotland take the club over, he will lose even more.
All prospective bidders know that the American owners are in a weak position. The Americans have to pay the minimum required on their debts by the end of September, which they don’t apparently have, or they need to sell the club, which will see them realise a huge loss (potential new owners are supposedly keeping their bids low), or they will lose control of the club to the bank, which will realise an even bigger loss for the American pair. Hicks is hoping to find some new finance so he can meet his debts and keep riding the storm until a better offer comes along for Liverpool.
George Gillett, on the other hand, is apparently willing to cut his losses now and move on. It is a protracted saga that just keeps going on and on and throwing a new twist along the way. It does appear that Hicks and Gillett will eventually not be in charge at Liverpool but until the change in ownership actually happens Liverpool fans are kept waiting.