F6 wants 50 percent stake in Liverpool

A Saudi prince wants to buy half of Liverpool football club in a deal worth up to $560 million.

If the deal goes through, it would mark the latest buy-in by Gulf investors in an English Premier League team.

However, Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is only willing to allow 25 percent of the club to be sold, an executive familiar with the situation said on condition of anonymity

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Abdullah al-Saud (picture), who is chairman of sports investment firm F6, was quoted by the Saudi Al-Riyadh newspaper on Sunday as saying that “we are seeking, at present, to own a 50 percent stake in the club.”

“The value of the transaction, which is nearing resolution, will be between 200 million pounds [$318 million] and 350 million pounds,” the prince said.

The comments come on the heels of an F6 statement released on Saturday that said Prince Faisal had signed a memorandum of understanding with one of Liverpool’s American co-owners, George Gillett Jr., as well as Richard Petty Motorsports. That deal envisions in part setting up sports academies in the kingdom and the broader Gulf region.

The comments by Prince Faisal about acquiring half of Liverpool took the club by surprise.

Hicks, who owns half of 18-time English champion Liverpool with Gillett, is only prepared to sell a 25 percent stake in the club to raise 100 million pounds and was not aware of the prince’s claims, the executive familiar with the situation said.

Hicks has had investment bank Merrill Lynch scouring the Middle East for investors for more than a year to help find funds to reduce the club’s debt and build a new stadium.

Gillett would not be able to act independently of Hicks and sell his 50 percent stake without the permission of the Texan.

Hicks and Gillett have been looking to reduce Liverpool’s 245-million pound debt. They paid off 60 million pounds of the debt when the loan used to buy the club in 2007 expired in July.

If Prince Faisal was to acquire a stake in Liverpool, it would mark the latest investment in football by investors from the oil-rich Gulf region.

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, bought Manchester City for 210 million pounds. Sulaiman al-Fahim, the Emirati businessman who helped broker the Manchester City takeover for Sheik Mansour, has also taken control of his own Premier League team ­­— Portsmouth. - Agencies.