Topic: URGENT: Hicks's 281m loan - campaign to fight for our club!

[colden]

Okay people - things have got a little more interesting:

This is The Telegraph's brief summary -
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is reported to have told the club’s board that he will sign a £281million refinancing deal to stay in charge at Anfield on Oct 1.
The American, who met Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton in London for talks last week, hopes the deal with the Blackstone/GSO Group will allow him another two years to find a buyer for the Merseyside club, who face Manchester United today.
The deal reportedly does not include any funds to buy new players or to build a new stadium. The notion of Hicks remaining in charge could also lead to questions over the long-term futures of Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres, who have voiced concerns over the club’s ambitions under the American owners.
 

Now overnight, RAWK's answers to Lisbeth Salmander and her team have been beavering away to provide us with up to date contacts; the first stage is to make Blackstone/GSO (or any alternative leverage specialists) think again, if we can. I'd suggest sending this to the first two email addresses on this list and cc-ing the rest; the template is a suggestion only. I'm hoping to have some considered advice from Jack later on, as to the best arguments to use and at the moment, I must confess, my anger level is sky-high and a great deal of emotion has spilled into this email. Still, lets them know we're not easy fodder for their particular brand of rapacious capitalism, eh?

GET EMAILING people. I came on here this morning and 'famous lookalikes' was at the top of the board. For those who prefer snailmail/faxes, I'll be posting those details subsequently.

Sent.

So angry on first seeing this story, but after a period of reflection I'm now confused by the statements highlighted. If he's holding onto the club to give himself another 2 years to find a buyer, surely he knows the repercussions of the top players leaving. We will be mid table at best in 2 years time, so the value of the club will diminish significantly. Even if he's holding out for the new TV etc deal, our allocation of that will be so much lower than currently anticipated.

Everything points to a potential meltdown if Hicks loads us with more debt. Even if the debt is kept the same, it will be at seriously higher interest rates. We can only just afford the current interest payments (but for how long?). Any finance company should be able to see this, and refuse his application.

I'm hoping this is just brinkmanship from Hicks, to try to force other potential buyers out into the open, & to increase the price so that he is able to at least walk away with something from this "investment". But then, maybe I'm just an optimist.

Whatever the case, the protests / campaigns must continue & intensify.
 

[No666]

Yeah, colden, I've asked myself a lot of questions about this story - point is, we have to take it at face value and target Blackstone.

[Machae]

It's because they lifted it from  NOTW.

Is the original source NOTW? and if so...

[Skuzzlebutt]

Sent mine.

Keep the pressure on.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Sent.

Thanks for the information No666.

[RK7]

I am currently out of the office, returning on September 22. If you have an urgent matter, please don't hesitate to contact me on my cell at 917.509.2021. Thank you.

Bombard this phone number with texts and calls

[withgreataplomb]

Not that I advocate or endorse anything of this nature, but if he gets refinanced, I can see riots, and/or violence committed against Hicks, people are genuinely THAT angry.

[beefy76]

sent

[jason42]

Done.

[No666]

We believe the story is correct - that's all we have to work on and we can't sit back and hope it's not true. If we're wrong, well, so be it: you can lock me in the stocks and throw Rooney's used condoms at me. But let's be honest, the details are merely what's been published already in the broadsheets this week. Come on, guys. Don't snipe and find reasons not to do it. Get in there.

[No666]

This was posted by Jack in the Oct 6 thread but it deserves another airing so you can see the sort of shite they're trying to come up with. I'm going to need to reread it to wholly get my head around it, but a first reading provides enough of a wake-up call.

Have now read the copy document published by SOS.

Obviously, there are some ambiguties, because it refers to certain other documents which the intended readers were familiar, with, but we are not.

To summarise, it appears to be a plan for LFC Ltd to raise funds by borrowing.  And I stress, LFC Ltd, not its parent company, KF.

The plan was to raise £290m by borrowing that sum.  £120m was to be borrowed as senior debt, and £170m as junior debt.

The holders of the senior debt would have the right to first call on all of LFC's assets in the event of default.  This would apply not jsut to the £120m loaned initially, but to all interest, charges, expenses, etc associated with the loan or the deafult.

The holders of the junior debt would only get paid if the senior debt holders had been paid in full.  (Presumably these would be given a second charge so that they would be paid before unsecured creditors.  But the document does not go into that level of detail.)

The document does not say so, but the senior debt holders are not necesarily taking a huge risk, and that would be reflected in the interest and charges.  ie probably at a normal commercial rate.  Whereas the junior debt holders are taking a significant risk, and that would be reflected in the interest and charges.  ie probably pretty high, and certainly much higher than for the senior debt.


Back to the document, apparently Beach Point, Halcyon, Blackrock, DK Partners & Stonetower were all interested in the senior debt and on the terms proposed by G&H.

Whereas only Trimaran, DE Shaw, Avenue, Centrebridge, GSO were interested in the junior debt.  And none of them on the terms proposed by G&H.

However, the report goes onto say that FBR is willing to lend a certain sum, in excess of £75m, to Kop Delaware.  As such, KD could release the net proceeds of £75m to the other companies.  This might mean that LFC Ltd would only need to raise £95m by way of junior debt.  The report implied that it should be possible to raise that.


The "executive directors" apparently had some concerns.  There is no clarification of who these were, even to the extent of whether it includes the owners or not.  I assume that it doesnt include the owners, since it is their proposal.  I assume it definitely includes IA and CP.  However, I thought MB was not an executive director, but was non-exuecutive, so it may not include him.  It may also refer to PN, who is a director of the club, but none of the higher companies.   

In any case, the concerns were:

a)  They believed that the senior debt should be on KF (rather than on LFC)

b)  The owners guarantees should be "continued as capital commitments" (implying that the loan proposal removed G&H's guarantees).  Under the current arrangements, G&H would have to pay up to £110m if there was a shortfall in the event of the banks demanding full repayment.  Although these guarantees protect the bank, and not the club, the significance to the club is that they mean that G&H do not have an incentive to simply put the club into insolvency and walk away.

c)  There should be  "some commitment ... with respect to corporate governance".  Implying that G&H's proposal might be very blurry about the financial control within the group.  The concerns are not spelt out, but hypothetically maybe the directors were worried about whether measures were in place to stop LFC funds simply being sent to Kop Cayman, never to be seen again, etc.


The advice from Slaughter & May was not (according to this document) that the "executive directors" could or should "block" the refinance.  The advice was that the executive directors ought to make sure that the above issues are addressed properly, and that if they do not do so, then they may be in breach of their fiduciary duties.  It is for reason that I assume the advice is to the club directors, including PN.  However, the advice appeared to be that, subject to those issues, the club directors could sign off on the proposals.


The document sought the approval of the board to:
a) Agreeing the above, in principle  (obviously actual agreement could not be given until the lenders, and the full details of the loans, were finalised)
b)  Agree some headline items for the propoal  (eg amount of debt, date for repayment, type of secutrity, etc, presumably)
c)  Finalise PWC report  (presumably PricewaterhouseCoopers were providing the financial details of the group to potential lenders ? ? ?  I aint clear why, though.  I'd have thought that the documents prepared for the sale would have been sufficient)
d)   Agree timetable, including agreeing that all senior personnel will assist in getting the deal done.


The remainder of the document summarises the group debt to RBS as of 31 August.  It works out at £282.4m.  The costs of refinancing are estimated at an additional £20m on top of that.

So, as of 31 August, the group would need to raise an estimated £302.4m to pay off RBS completely.

But they hope to negotiate with RBS defer £37m ish until they have organised stadium finance.  They also seem reasonably confident that the £75m from Kop Delaware will definitely be available, meaning that "only" £190m needs to be found. 

Of course, a refinance on 31 August did not occur, and so more will be required now.  The document contains no estimate of the RBS debt as of 30 September.

[Base21]

Done... although, I honestly think/hope that if we arrange a march in Liverpool (and London) then we can send a very clear message that we can't afford to let those shitbags around the club any longer than expected. It's enough they never considered anyone's feelings, dried the club of all it's profits, and never thought how all of this is going to bounce back on their faces.

I'm fighting, and will never stop until these two filthy liars leave our club!

[Pete Bird]

Done. E-mails sent...

We just can't afford to have this clown as an owner of Liverpool FC for another two years! 

Even two weeks is more than we can take!!!

[Sar75]

Emails sent but 4 returned undeliverable.
Will keep trying.

[royhendo]

Bump. 20 fucking pages of post-match wailing on a day when news like this broke.

Pathetic. We deserve Hicks owning us at this rate.

[Lizapool]

sent

[cathy-lfc-taff]

Sent

[Coady]

I cant see who would lend him this sort of money and let Hicks run the show, surely any lender would want equity and a lot of conditions attached to it.

[Lizapool]

Done... although, I honestly think/hope that if we arrange a march in Liverpool (and London) then we can send a very clear message that we can't afford to let those shitbags around the club any longer than expected. It's enough they never considered anyone's feelings, dried the club of all it's profits, and never thought how all of this is going to bounce back on their faces.

I'm fighting, and will never stop until these two filthy liars leave our club!

there is a SOS London branch meeting on Tuesday at 7pm

Tuesday 21st September 7pm
Venue - The Shooting Star Ale & Pie Pub
125- 129 Middlesex Street London
E1 7JF
http://www.shootingstar-city.co.uk

Downstairs function room, with its own bar.

Pub is 20 yards from Bishopsgate, right by Liverpool Street Station. Middlesex Street is where Petticoat Lane Market is based.

Come and give us your input and we can have united organisation

[jason67]

Bump. 20 fucking pages of post-match wailing on a day when news like this broke.

Pathetic. We deserve Hicks owning us at this rate.

True.

Don't forget the posts in all the other threads... gerrard, johnson, carra......

[electricghost]

According to this article the GSO fund was closed in July.  Do they have different funds running does anyone know, or has Hicks missed the boat ?

http://www.altassets.com/private-equity-news/article/nz18933.html

[The holly and the jillc]

Done

[Lush is the best medicine...]

According to this article the GSO fund was closed in July.  Do they have different funds running does anyone know, or has Hicks missed the boat ?

http://www.altassets.com/private-equity-news/article/nz18933.html

think it means that they have their finance from investors and are looking for business opportunities to invest in?

[andy in warrington]

bombarded the e mail addresses

[PhoenixRising]

Done Done and Done again

[turbo]

Dear Sirs/madams,
The prospect of you financing Tom Hicks' bid to retain control of Liveropool FC is filling thousands, even millions, of fans worldwide with dread.
Mr Hicks and George Gillett promised that they would respect the traditions of our great club, but their leveraged buyout two years ago has ensured that for four successive transfer windows, our outgoings have failed to exceed our incomings.
The club is repaying their loan to the tune of £45 million a year. It is not surprisng, therefore, that we have slipped from second in the league at the end of the 2008-09 season to seventh last season. As a consequence we missed out in qualification for the lucrative European Champions League. Now we face the prospect of losing our best players and slipping further down the league.
And we are still waiting for the stadium that we desperately need, that the duo promised to build. Without it there's no way we can compete with our rivals.
Please, please think twice about lending Mr Hicks the money. He is tearing the heart out of our great club and causing untold number of fans desperation and heartache.

[Brother Mouzone]

BUMP

[scouse29]

Bump. 20 fucking pages of post-match wailing on a day when news like this broke.

Pathetic. We deserve Hicks owning us at this rate.

Thats always the problem though, i dont know when the penny will drop with most people?? 

I really hope this turns out to be rubbish but the thruth be known we have been for sale for years and i cant help but worry that were stuck with these clowns for thelong haul.

Where are these people such as Bamba who claimed to be advising that the sale process was ful steam ahead, seems its furtehr away now than ever??

[JJ Red]

Bump. 20 fucking pages of post-match wailing on a day when news like this broke.

Pathetic. We deserve Hicks owning us at this rate.

But don't you understand, everything would be ok if Lucas had played instead of Poulsen!

I feel like we are watching a public execution of our beloved club, watching as she is led out to the chopping block by the owners. I'm also reminded of an episode of Blackadder the third when he and Baldrick are about to have their heads chopped off and Baldrick's cunning plan is to wait until after their heads have been cut off. "And then we leap into action?" is Blackadder's response. It seems alot of our fans are using the Baldrick logic.

[Finn Solomon]

Where are these people such as Bamba who claimed to be advising that the sale process was ful steam ahead, seems its furtehr away now than ever??

Isn't it obvious? The board refused to accept Huang's bid, which was the only one on the table, and when he left there's bugger all who want to buy us.

[God's Left Peg]

Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent. Sent.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[royhendo]

Bump

[Regi]

Sent....at a low ebb today with this nonsense

[relahni]

Bump. 20 fucking pages of post-match wailing on a day when news like this broke.

Pathetic. We deserve Hicks owning us at this rate.

The game against Man Utd is insignificant compared to our current plight imo.  In fact, football is secondary right now.  Think I said this before somewhere, that Man Utd and Everton can only win games against us.  Hicks and Gillette can finish us!

[LiverBirdKop]

My letters have been more in the are you aware sense.

" Are you aware of Tom Hicks' financial performance in the past years? Are you aware of his defaults? Are you aware that allowing this man and his equally financially distressed partner to continue will simply generate more and more debt?

Are you aware that mass boycotts are being organized if Gillett and Hicks get any financing allowing them to retain the club longer? Do you realize the enormous risk your company will be taking on behalf of your shareholders and investors? If and when that happens, the odds of getting your money back are just as good as playing the lottery."

Forget the sentimental stuff. Unless they're knowledgeable LFC fans nobody cares.

[PaisleyPrint]

Thing is Roy you are 'preaching to the converted' in here.  It's usually the same posters supporting these efforts.

The apathy shown by the majority of our supporters is really concerning, struggling to get 6000 signatures for a bloody petition, never mind actually post a letter.  As for Jonny's shirt, for which he stands to lose a lot of money, just forget about it.

[edinburghred]

sent

[thekremlin]

sent it, though i did have trouble with a couple of the addresses.

[TSC]

Be interesting to see what details come out over the next few days re this.  Fearing the worse.  Not even assed about the footie now.  Our fucking board have said not a jot for weeks.  Treat support with contempt. 

Message to the board: We're still watching and waiting.  You've done absolutely nothing positive of note for the club during your tenure to date.  Even if the news isn't what we wish to hear at least have the decency to attempt to engage with your 'consumers'.  Give off some pretence that you give a fuck.

[Humble Red]

Done, wrote my own and will await response.