by Igor Zidane » Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:13 pm
FORMER Liverpool FC managing director Christian Purslow described selling the club to New England Sports Ventures as a "bottom of the barrel" deal, a court heard yesterday. Liverpool Daily Post, 11/02/11
In an astonishing email sent just a month before the deal with NESV was completed, Mr Purslow told LFC board members:
He did not believe NESV had the money for a new stadium
Their bid was at the "extreme bottom end" of what was wanted
John Henry's background as a hedge fund financier "could not be worse” in PR terms
The only positive was that they actually “existed”.
The email was disclosed by Tom Hicks and George Gillett's legal team as they try to have an anti-suit injunction stopping them from suing for damages outside the UK or European Union lifted at London’s High Court.
They want to show the deal accepted for LFC undervalued the club and ignored other, higher offers.
The email was sent to fellow LFC directors Ian Ayre, Phillip Nash, and then chairman Sir Martin Broughton on September 15.
It is not known if Mr Purslow’s opinion of the deal changed in the month leading up to the sale or if the NESV bid was subsequently improved.
Mr Purslow urged the trio to "avoid the natural temptation to jump straight into the deal with NESV", and then lists all the negative elements in their bid.
He wrote: "So what is positive? Answer, they exist. Which is not a lot, but it is not to be underestimated in importance."
He then suggests that they "double check that none of the possibles who have come and gone in the last 18 months to apparent levels lower than Sharjah but higher than NESV are not there.
“So I repeat this is a bottom of the barrel outcome."
The reference to Sharjah is believed to refer to an alleged £600m bid for LFC from the Middle East.
The club is back in court as Sir Martin, RBS, and NESV are asking the court to extend indefinitely an injunction stopping Hicks and Gillett suing for damages abroad.
The injunction was taken out when Mr Hicks launched a $1.6bn lawsuit in Dallas trying to halt the £300m sale of the club in October last year.
Hicks and Gillett want the restriction removed leaving them free to pursue a legal claim in the USA.
The court heard from David Chivers QC, acting for NESV, who said Hicks and Gillett were cynically trying to manipulate international law in their pursuit of damages.
He said the pair had not proved why a court order stopping them suing for damages outside the UK or the EU should be lifted.
“The appropriate place for the dispute to be heard is in England”, said Mr Chivers.
Earlier Sir Martin's barrister, Philip Marshall QC, returned to the issue of how Hicks and Gillett had sought to mislead the Texas court in October.
“The conduct in Texas was quite extraordinary," he said.
Lawyers acting for Hicks and Gillett told the Texas court they needed an injunction to stop the sale of the club and that no other injunction had been sought – despite the fact that just hours earlier a UK court had refused it.
"I find it just incredible. It was utterly dishonest."
Sir Martin Broughton is also asking the High Court to confirm he acted "honestly and reasonably" in the £300m sale of the club to NESV.
Hicks and Gillett say there should be nothing to stop the case being held abroad.
Paul Girolami, their QC, told the court that Hicks and Gillett's holding companies Kop Football Cayman and Kop Football Investments (registered in Delaware) through which they once controlled LFC, had separate rights to those of the two Americans.
He drew the court's attention to a letter of appointment for Sir Martin when he was made chairman of the club last April.
It was on Kop Investment headed notepaper that said Sir Martin was liable, for his responsibilities as a manager of the company, under Delaware corporate law, and that any disputes arising from his appointment were to be dealt with under English law.
He then revealed a number of emails. The first dated August 22, 2010 from Phillip Hall of Inner Sports, acting for NESV, asked Sir Martin to keep their communications "confidential from the current owners".
Sir Martin sent an email confirming that this was fine.
Mr Girolami said an email between lawyers on September 9 spoke about a share purchase agreement to buy the club.
He then revealed the Purslow email, dated September 15, and said that at this point his clients were still unaware of what was going on.
Indeed it was not until after Sir Martin called a board meeting for October 5 to ratify the deal that Hicks and Gillett became aware of NESV, Mr Girolami claimed.
The pair have recently been told by lawyers acting for Sir Martin that they have 75,000 emails involving the sale.
The case continues today.
UP THE PURPS !!!
https://www.colfc.co.uk/
