One of the big stories on Thursday was former Liverpool owner David Moores’ comments criticising the American owners. He spoke out to talk justifiably about how the Americans are damaging the club but he also mentioned some other interesting information that wasn’t so widely reported in the press. Speaking about the other options he could have gone for, other than George Gillett and Tom Hicks deal, he talked about how prospective owner Dubai International Capital had an equally bad plan in mind for Liverpool FC. He told the Times, Liverpool had a “lucky escape” with DIC:
“Several things happened (or didn’t happen) that gave cause for concern. Our being made aware that DIC had devised a seven-year exit strategy was one such issue, along with a suggestion they intended to raise £300 million in working capital (ie, debt), secured against the club. “I was conscious of the fact I’d agreed a deal with DIC, and telephoned Sameer al Ansari to tell him that the board preferred Gillett and Hicks’s offer, and I wanted 48 hours to think things through. DIC representatives confronted me prior to the game and put it to me that I had to sign off on their offer immediately or the deal would be withdrawn. I told them I wouldn’t be held to ransom – and they withdrew the offer. With hindsight, we may have had a lucky escape there as Dubai is not the buoyant market it was in 2007.”
Since 2007, Dubai has gone into economic meltdown and DIC has had just as much trouble in staying afloat as an investment company of Dubai’s rulers. Coinciding with Moore’s comments, DIC announced on Thursday they were seeking a three month extension on paying some of its debts, raising more fears about the state of credit in the city-state. In a two paragraph statement it announced that DIC and a co-ordinating committee of some of its banks have asked its lenders to extend “certain maturities” until September 30th. The company said:
“The extension period would allow the implementation of a consensual longer term plan that would enable DIC to maximize the value of its business for the benefit of all its stakeholders.”
The heart of the debt crisis in Dubai is centred on the state owned conglomerate Dubai World. It is estimated by the International Monetary Fund that it, along with other debt spread across the government and an array of state-linked businesses, owes over $109 billion. DIC, unlike Dubai World though, is directly owned by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum rather than the state, but it is still troubled by financial problems. The company has a $1.25 billion loan due in June which it obviously cannot pay and has therefore asked for an extension.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at Roubini Global Economics, said DIC, like Dubai World, borrowed significantly against its own holdings to fund buyouts of other companies. A fate that would have befallen Liverpool if Moores had accepted their deal in 2007. So when the credit crisis struck in mid 2008, DIC found credit harder to come by and just like Dubai World, is having tremendous problems, although at a smaller scale than the state owned conglomerate. DIC certainly can be ruled out as a potential buyer then.
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There you go then. I always found it kind of unfair that some quarters constantly blamed Mr. Moores for selling to Hicks and Gillett and that did so because of his greed. Those people obviously never allowed even the idea to pop up in their head that there may be something to the whole thing that we wouldn’t know about. And now as everyone is calling for new owners (me too, to be honest) we may well find us in a worse situation as soon as the Americans sold up. In hindsight we may one day call them the lesser of two evils.
Lesser of two evils my foot. Why sell to either of them? What, no other buyer could be found? Right now if we had Moores as owner we would have been in a better situation. The club would have been in only £60 million in debt and so the money Rafa raised thorugh CL campaign would have been ploughed back into player sales and not pay interest of up to £40 million per year. A net spend of even £25 million per year as apposed to less than £0, which has been the case over the last 2 seasons under H+G, would have bought in players like Silva, Barry and possibly even David Villa. I don’t buy this “oh we probably could have done the due diligence a bit better” nonsense. Doug Ellis at Aston Villa quickly told Hicks where to get off when they tried to buy his club. A quick check on the internet showed him all he needed to know about this leech. If Moores held out for a proper buyer with proper contractual guarantees that debt would not be piled on to the club then we would most likely be owned by the Abu Dhabi team who are now splashing the cash at Man City. And if not then I can’t see why one of the worlds greatest and prestigious clubs could not attract some other owner who at the bear minimum would not add debt to the club.
good comments jack I totally agree with what you have said. Moores should have taken his time when selling the club in the first instance; in my opinion he allowed his own greed to distract him from his obligation to deliver the right custodian to LFC – I still think he must shoulder a great deal of blame for the position our beloved club finds itself in today!
He is just trying to deflect from the god awful mistake he made. Implying that DIC were not as bad as H&G, but at least the stadium would have been built by now and would be prodicing revenue by now. Plus the club would not be loaded with debt. There would be an even better asset to sell even if DIC ran into trouble. Also Maktoum is a liverpool supporter
So what is the difference between the debt now piled on the club by the current owners. At least the working capital would have been used to build the stadium by DIC.
The ‘so-called’ working capital of the yanks were just to ‘design’ and ‘buy’ Liverpool. What a load of crap Moores is. You made this mistake and you take it like a man. You brought us misery, you sold your soul and our club to the devil. Now you suffer and die a lonely man with your filthy money.
And Moores, you will always walk alone.
There is no chance that Liverpool would have been worse off under DIC. DIC may be in trouble now, but Maktoum is worht in the region of £14 billion himself. He could have took a personal interest in Liverpool. What can be worse than £40,000,000 interest a season with a “substantial budget” of £5,000,000 warchest. Liverpool are not in the same spending power as some of the Premierships lowest clubs. Is this what the most successfull club in England should be like. I think not and David Moores’ so called regrets will fall on many fans deaf ears, he never made a mistake, he knew exactly who he was selling it to – And it was a better offer financially
Didn’t mention the nice little nest egg he picked up by selling to Messrs Hicks and Gillette. Can you imagine DIC being worst than these idiots? They’d have to be bloody idots, and arab businesses don’t give me that impression. At least the Arabs are football fanatics, unlike the Yanks. Football never was or will be a major sport in the US. The Yanks are shite but Moores is a traitor.
man city owners enquired about the availability of liverpool
but they were refused and bought man city instead 🙂
phew that was lucky wasn’t it ????
Jack – He sold because of the idiotic clamour from the “most intelligent fans in the world” for a new sugar-daddy to come in and buy us the title, in much the same way that those very same fans ragged on Chelsea for doing (and probably complain about City for doing now). Moores felt that he could no longer fulfil the ambitions of the club and was pretty much forced to sell the family silver.
Those fans that were begging for new owners, no matter how unscrupulous, have gotten no less than they deserved!
It’s the rest of us fans that were happy with Liverpool keeping the image of, “doing things the right way”, that have been tarnished and are unfairly suffering through current events
Its sad that people are still targetting Moores, he should have done this and should have done that. FFS the man had done all that he could, he felt that he should step down to allow the club to move forward, rather than holding it back. HE DID NOT have the money to be able to contin ue to fund the club the way YOU wanted it to be funded. Yet still you sit there and say he should have done this and that. He couldnt do it any longer, let the man have some peace, dont you think he feels bad enough as it is?
As for DIC, time will tell who the new owners are but I dont think it will be from an Arab state
poor little scousers… U r an incredibly sad individual. This is the 2nd time I’ve seen your name commenting on a LFC story. Why r u obsessed with us? It’s kinda creepy. Do u spend your life trawling through LFC websites giving your 2 pence worth whilst pleasuring yourself. Why don’t u stick 2 talking about your own team you weirdo.
Moores and Parry will have a lonely life and he cant get rid of his guilt now by joining everyone slating the Yanks,he sold us out for a few extra quid a share,greed pure greed,not the fear of holding us back,greed pure and simple,I dont have an ounce of pity for the man,greedy lonely man.
torres9
in reply to your post i must add i am not sad i am very happy and find this hilarious
liverpool fans were relentless in taking the micky out of arsenal fans pre season claiming man city would be 4th spot and arsenal were the sinking ship
ironic how things turn out isn’t it 🙂
How would this have been worse when DIC’s use of the working capital would have most likely included a stadium?
The yanks are putting it in their pockets.
@ Jack: “Doug Ellis at Aston Villa quickly told Hicks where to get off when they tried to buy his club.”
It was Gillett he told to ‘do one’, not Hicks. Hicks, before the little weaselly one roped him in, never had any intentions of buying into ‘soccer’ outside of the USA.
The fat Texan motormouth even had to google LFC.
Thanks for the slight correction Tes. At least the jist of the story has been confirmed. Moores sold out almost in the last minute to these Yanks. How can you sell such a prized asset and important institution with no time to think who your selling to? Again if DIC had put on debt then at leat we would have a 70,000 seater stadium. Arsenal have bought their stadium with loans and look where they are. They can easily cover the interest with nearly £3 million in gate receipts every game. The fans’ suspicion that Moores got more profit from H+G seems more plausible especially with the abnormally high pay off that Parry got.
What Moores has forgotten to mention is the extra 9mill he received from the Yanks and that fact his good friend Parry would be allowed to keep his job. Moores greed has sold us down the river but instead of coming clean to the fans he’s trying to wriggle out of it by blaming everyone but himself. If he was that concerned he could have kept the club and waited for a better investor!!
Jay Says:
May 29th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
He speaketh the truth, excellent post Jay.
btw any one of you who thinks Moores was greedy and only sold out for for a poxey £8m more are completely deluding yourself! Liverpool fc was worth much more than the £172m Mores sold for and looking at Hicks new estimates with the stadium “fully planned” about x4 less than it was worth, 1700 shareholders voted, 1699 ignored, 1 blamed, the liverpool way indeed!
areH – In which planet are you on? David Moores had 51% of the shares. That means he had the overall say in who the club sells to. It does not matter if there were 1 million shareholders. To say your talking nonsense is being kind. BTW Hicks valuing the club at £800 million means diddly squat. Most people value the club at best £350 million. I wish some people would not understand things in such simple terms.
Moores was greedy DIC were not the only ones interested be a man Moores tell the truth!!!!!!