Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are considering appointing an independent chairman at Anfield and have sounded out leading business figures, including British Airways chairman Martin Broughton, about taking on the role, Telegraph Sport can disclose.
The appointment of an independent chairman is understood to be one of a number of options discussed by the Americans during three days of substantive talks with their advisers in London.
Hicks and Gillett co-chair the Liverpool board but are considering stepping aside in favour of a well-respected independent figure. Such a move would make sense if they were successful in finding a minority investor to help reduce the £237 million debt, but it is understood they will consider standing down even if they do not sell a stake in the club.
While they would still remain in control of Liverpool, a figure of the stature of Broughton would increase their appeal to potential investors and draw some of the sting from criticism of the Americans' stewardship of the club.
It is unclear if Broughton would be interested in the role or have time to do it, given the pressures BA is under. As well as the industrial dispute with the cabin crew’s union, Unite, the airline is closing on a merger with Spanish national carrier Iberia.
Broughton, who joined BA in 2004, has considerable sporting pedigree, having chaired the British Horseracing Board from 2004-07. He was chairman of British American Tobacco when it launched the BAR Formula One team and he has taken an interest in the 2012 Olympic project.
Hicks and Gillett arrived in London on Tuesday and have held talks with advisers, including respected City lawyers Freshfields Bruckhaus , before travelling to Anfield for the Europa League tie against Benfica. They are thought to be considering a range of options, from selling a minority stake to the outright disposal of the club.
The discussions are taking place ahead of the looming summer deadline for the owners to re-finance Liverpool's £237 million debts with banks RBS and Wachovia. RBS, the principal lender, has requested that the owners reduce the debt by £100 million ahead of the June 31 deadline.
With that in mind club managing director Christian Purslow, Rothschilds and Merrill Lynch, the advisers retained by Gillett and Hicks, respectively, have been engaged in a global search for third-party investment for months.
Hicks's presence in London suggests the talks are significant. He has often delegated responsibility for negotiations to senior figures in his family company Hicks Holdings, including former executive vice-president Casey Coffman, who dealt with Rafael Benitez's contract talks last year and joined the Liverpool board after Tom Hicks Jnr's resignation.
Coffman, who is still listed as a director at Anfield, has recently left the Hicks group to take up a senior role at Madison Square Garden in New York, however, leaving Hicks to take a more hands-on role.
Purslow has previously said that five or six interested parties are still in play and sources have suggested that some of these are interested in a deal to buy the whole club. Any buyer is likely to wait and see if Liverpool qualify for the Champions League before closing any deal, however.
The Rhone Group, a New York-based private equity fund, tabled a £105 million bid for a 40 per cent stake in the club last month, but a deadline for the deal to be accepted passed on Monday.
The price, as ever, will make or break any deal. Hicks and Gillett have previously maintained that any investor or buyer would have to pay a price that reflected Liverpool's potential increase in value after the new Anfield, which is yet to leave the drawing board, is built.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7568911/Liverpool-owners-Tom-Hicks-and-George-Gillett-consider-stepping-aside.html