Liverpool returns to London’s High Court this afternoon to try to overturn an eleventh-hour U.S. lawsuit designed to block the club’s $475 million (£300 million) sale to New England Sports Ventures (NESV).
The injunction was granted by a Texas district court just as the English Premier League side’s board, headed by chairman Martin Broughton, was finalizing details of the sale with John Henry’s NESV, which owns the Boston Red Sox. The temporary restraining order obtained by current American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett late Wednesday night was described as “unwarranted and damaging” by the soccer club’s directors.
Hicks and Gillett lost a High Court case against the Liverpool hierarchy and major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Wednesday morning. The Anfield board is unimpressed by the actions of the American duo, who are also claiming more than $1.6 billion (£1billion) in damages and have branded the proposed sale to Henry as an “epic swindle,” with a hearing date set for Oct. 25.
Liverpool said in a statement on its official website Wednesday night: “Regrettably, Thomas Hicks and George Gillett have tonight obtained a Temporary Restraining Order from a Texas District Court against the independent directors, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and NESV to prevent the transaction being completed. The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed.”
Legal experts argue that, after such a decisive defeat at London’s High Court, it was unclear whether a Texas court would have higher authority. Danny Davis, a partner at Mishcon de Reya, a law firm, said: “The High Court decision was based fully on U.K. corporate and contract law. The shares are registered here and most of the directors are English. I don’t see how a Texas court can have jurisdiction.”
The club is facing a Friday deadline to repay debts in the region of £230 million (US$366 million) owed to RBS, which could push the club into administration.
