http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/football/978593/A-KOP-ALYPSE-NOW.html
TOM HICKS has unveiled devastating plans to delay the sale of Liverpool for up to TWO YEARS.
The Texan is on the verge of a £280million deal with The Blackstone/GSO Group to retain his share in the cash-stricken club and buy out partner George Gillett.
Despite the hatred towards him on Merseyside, Hicks told the rest of the Anfield board in a meeting this week the refinance agreement will be signed by October 1.
But in a move which will cause deep despair on Merseyside, the terms would ensure the American has until 2012 to find a buyer.
More worryingly for distraught Kop fans, the GSO deal does not involve any injection of cash for new players OR a new stadium.
And it will almost certainly lead to the departure of Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina.
That prospect is prompting the rest of the Liverpool board to mount a legal challenge to stop Hicks finalising negotiations but even those closest to the deal fear there is little they can do to prevent him taking full control of the club.
Hicks convened a three-hour board meeting in London on Wednesday, where he delivered the bombshell news of his plans to deal with Blackstone/GSO.
Blackstone are one of the biggest private equity firms in the world with its chairman Steve Schwarzman worth an estimated £3billion. He is also a close friend of Hicks.
The meeting at the Blackstone HQ in London's Hanover Square was attended by chairman Martin Broughton, chief exec Christian Purslow and director, Ian Ayre and Finance Director Philip Nash.
Tellingly, co-owner George Gillett was absent from those talks.
He's given Hicks the green light to pursue a deal and is reluctant to ally himself to the rest of the board against the Texan. Gillett has, however, told Hicks his support is conditional on investment in the squad and stadium. That may yet prove the key to blocking a deal.
However, Gillett has defaulted on his own loan to RBS, forcing him to concede a degree of power to his business partner.
Hicks told his board he has no obligation to sell to any investor for less than a price he deemed acceptable - and the board has no authority to prevent him repaying the RBS debt and keeping the club with whatever funds he likes.
Hicks bluntly told Broughton the idea of Liverpool being sold for the value of the club debt - £282m - is unacceptable.
Hicks believes he has the legal right to pursue the GSO deal in the absence of any formal bid for the club since the sale process began.
Despite feverish speculation at the time, neither Chinese businessman Kenny Huang nor Syrian Yayha Kirdi ever made an offer for Hicks and Gillett's shares.
Hicks will attempt to present GSO's involvement as a step in the right direction, despite the obvious concerns.
The Texan thinks the involvement of Blackstone offers a platform for further investment. Club sources are baffled as to why, having failed to sell the club for the last two years at such a high valuation, Hicks still believes he'll succeed in two more.
Purslow, Ayre and Broughton have successfully resisted refinance proposals before because they believe Hicks is reneging on his public announcement in April that he wished to sell his shares. This dispute has been the subject of a legal battle since June but there was always a fear the respite was temporary. A court hearing to decide the future of Liverpool FC now looks inevitable.
By 2012, the value of the club is more likely to have plummeted due to consecutive years without Champions League football.
As Sport of the World first revealed a month ago, Anfield is in the grip of a boardroom war over refinancing.
Behind the scenes, the most ferocious battle to decide the future of the club is being fought right now.
The outcome is likely to be decided in various legal offices of America and London. The only other hope is for a credible buyer to make an 11th-hour bid for the club. Hicks' proposals do not have the support of chairman Broughton, MD Christian Purslow or commercial director Ayre.
The independent Kop board fears the GSO deal represents a nightmare scenario for the club and destroys any hope of a brighter future at Anfield.
There are claims it will end any chance of a new stadium and lead to the inevitable departures of star men.
Players such as Torres and Reina have openly demanded a change of ownership. Extending a period of limbo will effectively ensure this is their last season at the club.
Planning permission for the new arena on Stanley Park will have expired by September, 2011. And the GSO deal will also mean the debt against the club rises and interest rates increase.
This doomsday picture will be contested by Hicks, who is in talks with Blackstone's senior managing director and GSO co-founder Bennett Goodman.
The US equity firm Blackstone, who own GSO, is one of the most wealthy and well respected in the financial world.
Their chief executive, Schwarzman, is worth an estimated £3bn and has been dubbed The King of Wall Street during an impressive financial career.
The 63-year-old was listed in 2008 as America's 53rd-richest person. A year earlier, Time magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential men in the world. He lists former Presidents and White House chiefs of staff among his friends. Blackstone's portfolio is vast and striking, including the London Eye. In normal circumstances, if such a company was interested in a full buy-out it would be a relief for Kop fans.
But there is unease because GSO have not declared any wish to take over the club, heavily invest in the squad, plough in finance for the stadium or retain any long-term interest.
They represent a short-term fix for Hicks. The only way Blackstone will own Liverpool FC is if Hicks defaults on his fresh loans in two years.
Blackstone/GSO's offer to Hicks effectively amounts to a multi-million bail-out.
They are loaning Hicks the money he desperately needs to refinance the £282.4m RBS debts and buy him extra time. Hicks will now have even longer to sell the club at the valuation of £600m he's been pursuing since the sale process began in April.
Just when Liverpool fans hoped the end of the American reign was nigh, they're now faced with the reality the period of uncertainty may continue.
Disillusionment among players and fans is already at epidemic levels.
The position of the current five-man board would also be subject to review. Barclays Capital's involvement in the sales process would effectively be over, as would Broughton's tenure as chairman.
That's why the rest of the Anfield hierarchy is desperate to block the deal and is adamant any refinance using Liverpool as collateral is illegal.
They have just two weeks to stop Hicks and find a buyer. Hicks expects terms to be signed by October 1, when the first chunk of the RBS debt must be repaid.
It's baffling to some why a financial tour de force such as Schwarzman is assisting Hicks.
GSO specialise in investing in distressed companies at high rates of interest but Hicks also appears to be benefiting from a personal friendship and political alliance with Blackstone's top man.
Cynics are already concluding that Hicks has convinced an old pal to help him out in a period of strife.
"A few weeks ago we were saying Hicks needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat," a Kop source told Sport of the World.
"It seems he's pulled out one of the biggest, wealthiest rabbits in Wall Street."
