Kenny Huang’s office today stated that they have yet to make a formal bid for Liverpool but they have said they are interested in making an offer for the club. Huang is rumoured to be funded by a sovereign wealth fund from the Far East, and although I could be wide off the mark with whom Huang is getting his backers from, I thought it would be logical to surmise that considering Huang has extensive connections with many of China’s state owned businesses, it would be reasonable to assume that they would be involved in such a deal. Especially because Huang’s investment firm Rocket Capital, formed with the billions of NBA owners Les Alexander and Billy Joe McCombs, has invested into these companies, I thought that these four could have some involvement.
Brilliance Auto – The company is one of the leading automotive manufacturers in China. After its formation in 1992, Brilliance Auto has developed to become a massive player in China, not only manufacturing it’s own cars, but also establishing joint ventures with other car companies, including BMW, Toyota and Mitsubishi. In 2003, it agreed a deal to manufacture the BMW 3 series and 5 series in China while also selling there own “minibuses” for sale in the Chinese market. Promoting their brand through Liverpool worldwide could provide an excellent opportunity for the company.
Anta Sports Group – Probably the most likely to involved in the Liverpool deal, Anta Sports is one of the leading sportswear companies in China. It leads the market in sports footwear in China and it states on it’s website its’ ambitions for promoting its brand:
“The Group places great emphasis on branding by integrating the resources from sports leagues’ sponsorships, placement of advertisements, interaction with consumers through internet and endorsement of elite athletes with the featured products to enhance brand and product differentiation.”
Liverpool would no doubt fit into to their brand promotion strategy. They already sponsor Les Alexander’s Houston Rockets, and would certainly like to break into both the British market as well as utilising the worldwide appeal that the Reds possess.
Uni-President Enterprises – The company is Taiwan’s largest food company and through its subsidiaries exports everything from food products to animal feeds. In joint ventures or through affiliates, it also has large investments in both China itself and in the surrounding Asia/Pacific region. Interestingly enough for Liverpool fans, the business also owns the President Lions professional baseball team in Taiwan, indicating its interest in sport.
Sinoma International Engineering – Sinoma formed in 2001 and is listed on the Shanghai stock exchange. It specialises in engineering consultancy, engineering design, construction and supply, and has progressed in the last nine years to become a leader in both the domestic and overseas cement engineering industry. It is keen to develop and raise awareness of its business abroad and is keen to become a leading top 100 project general contractors in the next few years.
All of these companies then have two things in common: 1) they have close connections with Kenny Huang and 2) they are all keen to promote their companies worldwide with two of them already involved in sport in some shape or form. Whether they are part of the sovereign wealth fund backing Huang is up for debate, but it does show that Huang has connections to many extremely wealthy companies.
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Errr… Doesn’t a sovereign wealth fund imply it would be backed by a government company not some two bit cat food manufacturer?
I’d also question why these random companies are planning to invest in a sports brand. Since when did Tesco bother with football?
Complete non story here… Published to drum up clicks maybe?
Good stuff but the names that you have listed are privately owned companies. They ARE NOT Sovereign Wealth Funds – which are state owned. Mr. Huang is linked to the SAFE Investment Company and the China Investment Corporation, both are Chinese state owned and both have wealth of about 300 billion. Basically China would own LFC. Now there’s a thought!!!
Do you remember 2 months ago a chinese consortium wanting to pay 1 billion for Manchester Utd which was rejected by the Glazers, do you think its the same people who want Liverpool?
you got it wrong four out of four. it’s the china investment corporation.
striking similarities to the pompey fiasco here!
it appears that no-one has heard of this fella, personally the kuwaiti link sounds the most stable option for me. let’s just hold fire here until proof of the dough is made crystal clear!