Foreign Property News | Posted by Aye Myat Thu
Liverpool have held discussions with two Middle East-based consortiums over a £3billion takeover.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that representatives of consortiums from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have expressed an interest in buying the club.
Several sources report that consortium officials have approached Fenway Sports Group director Mike Gordon - the man responsible for the sale of Liverpool - to register their interest.
(Liverpool's FSG owners have held takeover talks with two Middle East-based consortiums)
It is understood both groups are private companies rather than state-owned.
However both consortiums are thought to have close links with their country's ruling families.
Saudi Arabia's Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal this week encouraged takeover bids for both Liverpool and Manchester United.Both clubs have been exploring potential sales options over the past month.
(The Mail on Sunday has learned that representatives of consortiums from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have expressed an interest in buying the club)
(FSG announced their intentions to sell their controlling stake in Liverpool earlier this month)
He said: 'From the private sector, I can't speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and there's a lot of passion about football.
'We will definitely support it if any [Saudi] private sector comes in, because we know that's going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom.'
The kingdom's state-backed Public Investment Fund (PIF) have already acquired Newcastle United.
Liverpool are also in discussions with a US-based buyer, while Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe and tech-giants Apple have been linked with United bids.
(FSG enjoyed great success at Liverpool in recent years, winning Champions League in 2019)
Sportsmail revealed that Manchester United are confident they can snatch potential buyers from Liverpool in what is expected to become a war for the highest bidder.
Sportsmail understands that those closely involved with the process feel United represent a much more appealing prospect than their old foes because they have a superior global reach.
And by acting now, hot on the heels of Liverpool, they believe the biggest financial names in the market will steer their interest towards Old Trafford rather than Anfield.
Liverpool were valued at £3.89billion by Forbes in May, and it is thought United are expecting more than £5bn, and are hoping for £6-8bn. Chelsea's sale to a consortium for £2.5bn - with a guarantee of a further £1.75bn investment in the club - has also not gone unnoticed.
FSG bought Liverpool for £300m off Tom Hicks and George Gillett and have turned the Merseyside club back into one of the foremost football institutions on the planet, ending the club's 30-year wait for a league title and winning their sixth Champions League as well as reaching two further finals.
(As of May 2022, Forbes valued Liverpool at $4.45billion as one of England's biggest teams)
.... Red Sox Owner John Henry Buys Waterfront Estate On Nantucket
Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry has dropped $25 million on a waterfront estate on Nantucket in the Shimmo neighborhood.
Henry, who is also the principal owner of The Boston Globe and the Liverpool Football Club, is expected to close on an abutting property at 48 Shimmo Pond Road that could bring the total value of the two acquisitions to approximately $35 to $38 million, island real estate sources told the Current.
Taken together, the deals could break the record for the highest sale of residential real estate in Nantucket history, eclipsing the previous record of $36 million for a home on Lincoln Avenue that was set less than two weeks ago.
The transaction last Friday for $25 million listed Harbor Hill House LLC as the buyer, an entity registered to John W. Henry at 433 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Fla.
The property Henry acquired on Friday at 4 Middle Valley Road is a waterfront estate that features multiple buildings totaling 18,100 square feet, including 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms. It was previously owned by entrepreneur Donald Burns, who tapped internationally known architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen to envision the compound. The property was recently featured in Architectural Digest.
The two properties at 4 Middle Valley Road and 48 Shimmo Pond Road - both owned by Burns - had been on the market together for $42.5 million.
On April 22, the property at 48 Shimmo Pond Road was transferred by Burns' limited liability company to another entity - 48 SBR LLC - registered to Boston attorney Joseph Brodigan. That sale was completed for $0.
Henry and his wife Linda Pizzuti have previously vacationed on Nantucket, and once told WGBH that the decision to move forward with the purchase of the Boston Globe was finalized during a beach walk on the island.
Ref: REVEALED: Liverpool enter talks with Saudi Arabian and Qatari consortiums over a potential £3BILLION takeover as Fenway Sports Group set the wheels in motion for a sale at Anfield (dailymail)
