Topic: Liverpool owner Hicks selling Texas Rangers shares

[Igor Biscuit please?]

Am I reading too much into this or did Stevie G and Kuyt get wind of the shit hitting the fan soon so signing new deals before it kicked off?? Wouldnt their value have gone up,increasing what the club is worth?  Or am I getting it wrong and it was G and H who needed them to sign...

[Milly]

Worst case scenario we win the league then it gets handed to the manx due to an administration points deduction...........

 

I would personally hire a hit man to shoot those two fat fucks........

[fry]

you cannot be just snapped into administration.  There is always the calm before the storm when the banks are trying to find a buyer.  I don't think they will have to look that hard, there are sure to be buyers waiting for a fair price.

I am surprised i have not seen any of the the hicks finance defenders softening his blows on here?  actually not that surprised really.

[fry]

here's the originals:



to show the recent change in this page:

http://www.hickssportsgroup.com/team/

and:



to show the recent change in this page:

http://www.hickssportsgroup.com/portfolio/

So by putting this onto the assets page of HSG he is falsely advertising this as an asset to those who invest in hsg and to the banks who bankroll him.  Why would he place a connection between the two then remove the information in the wake of a financual news storm and pre-empt any questions by saying it has nothing to do with liverpool.  Something surely stinks.

[shelovesyou]

So by putting this onto the assets page of HSG he is falsely advertising this as an asset to those who invest in hsg and to the banks who bankroll him.  Why would he place a connection between the two then remove the information in the wake of a financual news storm and pre-empt any questions by saying it has nothing to do with liverpool.  Something surely stinks.

Thought the exact same thing Fry , It would appear we are now not part of HSG but that we were before yesterday to most who saw that .

As for what stinks ? Thatd be Hicks' breath - he speaks nothing but shite on a regular basis.

[will2003]

Fry i'm not defending the fucker or anything but it doesn't say HSG own liverpool or either that Hicks own liverpool or have any interest. I would assume that Hicks is trying to prove his pedigree in sports ownership by saying 'Hey look what else i have an interest in!' but you and i both know you only have to google his wanky name and see what a mistake it would be to go into business with him. He could also be using it as a shop window to either sell us or sell some of his stake in us.

To be fair if i owned LFC i poster it everywhere too!

[will2003]

Take that all back actually i just read through the top bit ... What a knob end he is!

[TSC]

Surly if we default on our loan in the summer, won't we automatically be placed into Administration?

Horrible as that aspect is part of me says it may be a price worth paying to get shot of them.  As long as it doesn't happen this season!

[HarryLabrador]

So by putting this onto the assets page of HSG he is falsely advertising this as an asset to those who invest in hsg and to the banks who bankroll him.  Why would he place a connection between the two then remove the information in the wake of a financual news storm and pre-empt any questions by saying it has nothing to do with liverpool.  Something surely stinks.

Take a look at that site again......there is now no mention of Liverpool.

http://www.hickssportsgroup.com/portfolio/

[shelovesyou]

Fry i'm not defending the fucker or anything but it doesn't say HSG own liverpool or either that Hicks own liverpool or have any interest. I would assume that Hicks is trying to prove his pedigree in sports ownership by saying 'Hey look what else i have an interest in!' but you and i both know you only have to google his wanky name and see what a mistake it would be to go into business with him. He could also be using it as a shop window to either sell us or sell some of his stake in us.

To be fair if i owned LFC i poster it everywhere too!

Yer missing the point mate , on that HSG website it did have LFC on it with a brief history of the club on there  which suggested that it was part of his HSG Sports Franchise .

[Liverbird 2010]

Take a look at that site again......there is now no mention of Liverpool.

http://www.hickssportsgroup.com/portfolio/

Its weird harry we where on there yesterday somethings goin on, it reminds me of your custom title 

[HarryLabrador]

Its weird harry we where on there yesterday somethings goin on, it reminds me of your custom title 

I'll send in my retriever, Lynds. Harry is brilliant at sniffing out rogues. In fact all Moores and Parry needed was a once over from harry the lab and he would have smelt something very fishy from these 2.

[Liverbird 2010]

Has fat arse defaulted on the loan cause hes skint? if thats the case he hasnt got a hope in hell of keeping hold of us has he? This looks very bad for him in a financial sort of sense im thick where it comes to these things, but in the current financial climate RBS are not going to be doing him or his side kick any favours, and I doubt other banks will either. If these noises coming from the other side of the pond are that hes skint, and his sidekick also wanting to sell his other interests.

[fry]

Has fat arse defaulted on the loan cause hes skint? if thats the case he hasnt got a hope in hell of keeping hold of us has he? This looks very bad for him in a financial sort of sense im thick where it comes to these things, but in the current financial climate RBS are not going to be doing him or his side kick any favours, and I doubt other banks will either. If these noises coming from the other side of the pond are that hes skint, and his sidekick also wanting to sell his other interests.

You are not thick at all in financial issues, you gauged hicks is in financial trouble through information available, so called financial gurus could not.

[Dr. Beaker]

RBS can surely not justify to an outraged nation, giving further loans to the very embodiment of the cancer that infects the worlds finances.
There will always be a buyer when the price is right - hold your nerve brothers and sisters.

[fry]

RBS can surely not justify to an outraged nation, giving further loans to the very embodiment of the cancer that infects the worlds finances.
There will always be a buyer when the price is right - hold your nerve brothers and sisters.

The govt owning 70% of RBS tells me that decision making on loans will be based partly on public opinions as this is clearly in the public domain.  Somthing people care about as it stake not just profit margins etc

[electricghost]

"Hicks needs lenders that hold 51 percent of the debt to agree to the restructuring plan, adding that he is the largest lender to HSG."
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1298543.html

Hicks is lending money to himself?

[Dr. Beaker]

"Hicks needs lenders that hold 51 percent of the debt to agree to the restructuring plan, adding that he is the largest lender to HSG."
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1298543.html

Hicks is lending money to himself?

Yeah but he borrowed the money he is lending to himself by pretending that he owned what he is borrowing the money for.

[TSC]

Yeah but he borrowed the money he is lending by pretending that he owned what he is borrowing the money for.

Ha ha.  Says it all really.

[No666]

"There is no possibility of banks owning the teams," Hicks wrote in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I am working closely with both leagues to find quality partners that share my long-term vision of building these two great franchises. I will continue to fund the teams' operations. I am the largest creditor to HSG and need 51% of the banks to agree with my plan."

The fact that Hicks is trying to fire-fight this via email, but refusing to take phone interviews, tells us how very rattled he is by this news coming out. I guess we can't really tell whether he's rattled because he is severe financial danger, or because he knows this news being made public will spook RBS etc and also make it less likely he can sell any of his sports 'assets' including us, for a handy profit. Unfortunately for him, the minute this news broke here, it was bound to get into the UK press so bloody well done Lecter. People like you and Harry and Redjam ensure that every sliver of bad publicity about those b*stards gets out there.
Just heard from a well-connected contact on this - thinks a solution to our problems is not too far away. Doesn't specify further. I infer the pressure on Hicks is squeezing him towards one outcome only.
On the subject of administration, Southampton's parent company went into administration on Thursday, and the Football League will decide Tuesday whether this will lead to a points deduction or whether, because it is not the club itself, they have avoided this. I guess that has some implications for us, should Kop Holdings not achieve renewal of the loan and be unable to pay it off.

[Liverbird 2010]

Yeah but he borrowed the money he is lending to himself by pretending that he owned what he is borrowing the money for.

 

[shelovesyou]

"Hicks needs lenders that hold 51 percent of the debt to agree to the restructuring plan, adding that he is the largest lender to HSG."
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1298543.html

Hicks is lending money to himself?

enough said.

[fry]

this could be really embarrassing for the banks.

[Taffia2]

I still cant see how this mess stacks against Rafa signing his new contract.

I can only assume that Rafa, in the end, had no assurances from Hicks and Gillet about the future ownership of the club before he put pen to paper ?

YNWA

[Dr. Beaker]

this could be really embarrassing for the banks.

But faced with the choice of, embarrassing but massive commission, or not embarrassing and no commission...............

[Liverbird 2010]

I still cant see how this mess stacks against Rafa signing his new contract.

I can only assume that Rafa, in the end, had no assurances from Hicks and Gillet about the future ownership of the club before he put pen to paper ?

YNWA

The club is worth more with rafa than without.

[fry]

But faced with the choice of, embarrassing but massive commission, or not embarrassing and no commission...............

would be great if the local papers picked up on the removal of LFC from the assets page of his site. The banks cannot ignore this.  Having LFC associated with HSG gives it more worth, clearly a little fraudulent.

[lfctitch]

I think this news is a conspiracy it broke, into the worlds media, and was released by none other than waltonred. He didn't like the last thread being closed, because of no news so he leaked this information.

Its why he hasn't been around for the past couple of days to clear any of this up, trying to keep his head low

Well done WaltonRed we're all behind you.

[lfctitch]

would be great if the local papers picked up on the removal of LFC from the assets page of his site. The banks cannot ignore this.  Having LFC associated with HSG gives it more worth, clearly a little fraudulent.

Well he didn't directly say LFC was part of it, it was just included on the same page as HSG. Of course to a lot of people they could easily mistake this; and it could be deemed as false advertising (somewhere along those lines) however it probably wouldn't stand up in court.

However it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the worlds media over the next week; if it can be kept near the top of the news agenda; then we might see huge problems for him when it comes to refinancing Liverpool.

What is interesting is RBS surely have to decide in the next month or so what they are to do come July; they can't leave it till the last minute? Surely?

[Dr. Beaker]

would be great if the local papers picked up on the removal of LFC from the assets page of his site. The banks cannot ignore this.  Having LFC associated with HSG gives it more worth, clearly a little fraudulent.

Hopefully the Echo will oblige - they surely trawl these threads for any snippets from our team of terriers or is that labradors or even retrievers.

[lfctitch]

I have another question as well;

I thought a few months ago a group of MPS were going to the government about the way football (Liverpool in particular) has been heavily financed, well isn't it time that they stood up (especially in the fact that RBS are now 70% owned by the government (tax payers) and so indirectly this should have some bearing)

[lfctitch]

Hopefully the Echo will oblige - they surely trawl these threads for any snippets from our team of terriers or is that labradors or even retrievers.

Doesn't tony post on here? A quick PM wouldn't go a miss

[HarryLabrador]

FORBES
Net Worth:$1.0 bil (fortune down)
Fortune:self made
Source:leveraged buyouts
Age:63

I wonder if Forbes are preparing an edict to the above. Slightly more details on the loans involved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Texas Rangers Owner Hicks Sports Group Misses Interest Payments

By Aaron Kuriloff

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Tom Hicks’s holding company for the Texas Rangers baseball team defaulted on $525 million in loans after missing interest payments, Bloomberg data show.

Hicks Sports Group, which also owns the Dallas Stars hockey team, is involved in negotiations with its lenders over the terms and covenants of the loans, Hicks Sports said in an e- mailed statement. Describing the situation as a “business dispute,” the team owner decided to withhold last week’s interest payment “as part of its negotiations,” according to the statement.

“We are simply asking the lenders to be reasonable,” Tom Hicks, 63, said in the statement. “They need to understand that these important assets must be managed with long-term perspective and a commitment to winning.”

The company missed payment on a $350 million term loan with an interest rate of 2.5 percentage points above the London interbank offered rate, or Libor; a $100 million so-called second-lien loan, with an interest rate of 5.5 percentage points plus Libor; and a $75 million revolving bank loan that pays 2 percentage points over Libor.

“Like so many other companies and institutions, HSG has been impacted by a global credit crisis which no one could have anticipated,” Tom Hicks said. “The company is not asking for additional money; it is only asking for full access to the interest reserve account and revolving credit line as well as some amendments in the debt covenants.”

The loans were arranged by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Plc in 2006 and mature in 2010 and 2011, according to Bloomberg data.

Separate From Football

The loans are related to the Rangers and Stars, and not to the English Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club, which Hicks also owns, the statement said.

The default will have “absolutely no impact on operations of either team,” the company said. Hicks Sports’ finances are “completely separate” from Liverpool F.C., Hicks Acquisition Co., Hicks Equity Partners and Hicks Holdings, as well as Tom Hicks’s personal and family interests, according to the statement.

Last month Forbes estimated Tom Hicks’s net worth at $1 billion.

Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett, bought Liverpool for 174 million pounds ($258 million) in February 2007 and assumed 45 million pounds in debt. Gillette is considering selling his stake in both the soccer and hockey teams, Canadiens President Pierre Boivin said in a statement last month. Hicks said in February he wasn’t selling his stake in the team.

Last week, MLB.com reported that Hicks had hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to explore selling as much as 49 percent of the Rangers, citing Hicks. The Web site said Hicks was also seeking to sell a minority stake in the Stars.

Hicks bought the Stars for $84 million in February 1996 and the Rangers in January 1998 for $250 million from a group headed by former President George W. Bush.

[RedJam70]

I have another question as well;

I thought a few months ago a group of MPS were going to the government about the way football (Liverpool in particular) has been heavily financed, well isn't it time that they stood up (especially in the fact that RBS are now 70% owned by the government (tax payers) and so indirectly this should have some bearing)

Around Christmas I wrote to Alan keen MP the chair of the all party foootball group asking about the parliamentary inquiry that was supposed to have taken place, specifically with regards to G&H being called. Got an acknowledgement in jan that they'd recieved my letter. Heard nothing at all since. Seems the wheels of politics can grind very slowly at times.

[shelovesyou]

FORBES
Net Worth:$1.0 bil (fortune down)
Fortune:self made
Source:leveraged buyouts
Age:63

I wonder if Forbes are preparing an edict to the above. Slightly more details on the loans involved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Texas Rangers Owner Hicks Sports Group Misses Interest Payments

By Aaron Kuriloff

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Tom Hicks’s holding company for the Texas Rangers baseball team defaulted on $525 million in loans after missing interest payments, Bloomberg data show.

Hicks Sports Group, which also owns the Dallas Stars hockey team, is involved in negotiations with its lenders over the terms and covenants of the loans, Hicks Sports said in an e- mailed statement. Describing the situation as a “business dispute,” the team owner decided to withhold last week’s interest payment “as part of its negotiations,” according to the statement.

“We are simply asking the lenders to be reasonable,” Tom Hicks, 63, said in the statement. “They need to understand that these important assets must be managed with long-term perspective and a commitment to winning.”

The company missed payment on a $350 million term loan with an interest rate of 2.5 percentage points above the London interbank offered rate, or Libor; a $100 million so-called second-lien loan, with an interest rate of 5.5 percentage points plus Libor; and a $75 million revolving bank loan that pays 2 percentage points over Libor.

“Like so many other companies and institutions, HSG has been impacted by a global credit crisis which no one could have anticipated,” Tom Hicks said. “The company is not asking for additional money; it is only asking for full access to the interest reserve account and revolving credit line as well as some amendments in the debt covenants.”

The loans were arranged by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Plc in 2006 and mature in 2010 and 2011, according to Bloomberg data.

Separate From Football

The loans are related to the Rangers and Stars, and not to the English Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club, which Hicks also owns, the statement said.

The default will have “absolutely no impact on operations of either team,” the company said. Hicks Sports’ finances are “completely separate” from Liverpool F.C., Hicks Acquisition Co., Hicks Equity Partners and Hicks Holdings, as well as Tom Hicks’s personal and family interests, according to the statement.

Last month Forbes estimated Tom Hicks’s net worth at $1 billion.

Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett, bought Liverpool for 174 million pounds ($258 million) in February 2007 and assumed 45 million pounds in debt. Gillette is considering selling his stake in both the soccer and hockey teams, Canadiens President Pierre Boivin said in a statement last month. Hicks said in February he wasn’t selling his stake in the team.

Last week, MLB.com reported that Hicks had hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to explore selling as much as 49 percent of the Rangers, citing Hicks. The Web site said Hicks was also seeking to sell a minority stake in the Stars.

Hicks bought the Stars for $84 million in February 1996 and the Rangers in January 1998 for $250 million from a group headed by former President George W. Bush.

Ah the old " global crisis " chestnut ...........

No Mr Hicks , youre a money laundering , irresponsible fucktard.

[Surprise me.]

You'd think he is the last person that a bank would want to lend money to but apparently not. Fucking joke.

[rafathegaffa83]

What I don't understand is:

These 40 investors who had to agree a 51% yes/no to use the reserve. Why was this not done before he defaulted on the loan? My second question is quite simple; this man spends millions on PR a year, this man is all about creating an image of himself being a big millionaire with lots of capital, this has just royally fucked him over, and yet it was allowed to happen, and leak to the press. Why?

For me after a nights sleep thinking about this, its almost like someone has an agenda to bring Hicks down, you know I remember a saying: "if I go down, i'm dragging you down with me"
Well the fact that a Canadian radio station (which has often been quoted in international newspapers) has gone on record saying his finances are worse than Gilletts, he could go bankrupt, all this will surely make papers all over Canada and America this morning. (And has made it into the papers in this country to)

I really think Gillett knew that Hicks couldn't sustain it all, and he was just waiting for the right time to pull Hicks into shit creek with him, Gillett will be rubbing his hands with joy.

Even though Gillett was condemned too and they are as bad as each other, I have to admit when I was watching/listening to that show last night, I couldn't help but think that Gillett or his people were perhaps using the show's round table to filter some information re: us and Hicks' finances.

Gillett has a history of being a guest on the show. He obviously knows that due to the size of our global fanbase that someone will latch onto some information about Liverpool. Additionally, he knows transcripts from his previous encounters have been printed in the international media. Thus, perhaps media types who are favourable to him have aided his cause in publicly critiquing Hicks. But then again, the fact that at least one of the journalists mentioned that off-the-record many people inside baseball are privately worried and angered by Hicks' financial mess makes me think this has been a known problem within the inner sanctum of these sports.

I do find it highly amusing that Hicks defaulted on a payment, three days before the Rangers' Opening Day: a period when interest in baseball among many fanbases and (sports) media outlets in North America is going to be at its peak level. Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if more information comes to light over the weekend.

[redprodigal]

The govt owning 70% of RBS tells me that decision making on loans will be based partly on public opinions as this is clearly in the public domain.  Somthing people care about as it stake not just profit margins etc

It's hardly public opinion thought is it? A few hundred of us on internet forums slagging off a couple of American businessmen. If you think that RBS will care about that you are going to be disappointed big time. They won't give a toss. All they care about is if the loan is being serviced and if it will continue to do so in the future. I won't be surprised to see them getting an extension again. I'm so sick of getting my hopes up that I've stopped even worrying about it anymore and I'm just concentrating on supporting the team. Talking of which, it's 90 mins till kick off, time to go.

[wolf99000]

can anyone help me out with him defaulting on his loans in the usa how does this affect us please god say it means this really is the start of getting him out of the club

[TSC]

It's hardly public opinion thought is it? A few hundred of us on internet forums slagging off a couple of American businessmen.

True.  In fact if you consider the teams which don't like us; def the mancs and Everton and prob Chelsea.  Their fans combined would well outnumber us and are prob happy about our predicament.  So you could argue the regime has more support than against.