Singapore businessman withdraws Liverpool bid

Posted Friday, October 15, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singaporean billionaire businessman Peter Lim on Thursday withdrew his 320 million pound (512 million dollar) bid to buy English football giants Liverpool, saying his offer had been ignored.

"It has become clear to me that the board is intent on selling the club to NESV (New England Sports Ventures) to the exclusion of all other parties, regardless of the merits of their bids," Lim said in a statement.

"In these circumstances, I am not able to proceed with my intention to acquire the club."

Lim's bid was up against the 300 million pounds offered by NESV, the owner of baseball's Boston Red Sox in the United States.

Lim, a sports enthusiast who made his fortune through stockbroking, said he had "tried to engage constructively" with the Liverpool board and major creditor Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) about his offer, but had been ignored.

On top of the 320 million pound cash bid, Lim also offered 40 million pounds for the acquisition of players.

"The board and RBS have chosen not to respond or to discuss my offer with me. My representatives even offered to meet the board last night. This was ignored, although NESV was invited to attend that meeting," he said.

Lim said his interest in buying Liverpool remains "if current events cause the circumstances to change".

"I would however extend my very best wishes to Liverpool Football Club, the staff and players, and the fans, who really deserve better than this.

"I hope the club now moves towards realising its potential and achieves success on the pitch," he added.

London's High Court on Wednesday had cleared the way for the English Premier League team's sale, but Liverpool's American owners—Tom Hicks and George Gillett—secured a temporary restraining order from a US court which blocked any transaction.

Hicks and Gillett, who bought Liverpool in 2007, claim that the English members of the club's board—chairman Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre—have failed to act in the best interests of the club.

The last-ditch intervention by the American owners on Wednesday means more court action is necessary.