What Will U Do If You Had Sgd650m Cash

[therat 18]

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/12/wh...-buy-liverpool/

S’pore billionaire Peter Lim ups Liverpool bid to £360m

Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim has increased his offer to buy over troubled English football giants Liverpool to £360m (S$650m) .

The new proposal, which tops that of rival bidder New England Sports Ventures (NESV) by £60m, is made up entirely of cash. It also includes £40m for purchase of new players.

It will also remove the entire acquisition debt of £200m taken on by the existing owners, Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks, that has cast uncertainty over the club’s future.

In a short statement released to the media, Lim said, “I respect and admire Liverpool Football Club, which is steeped in tradition and history. I am committed to rebuild the Club so that it can soon regain its position at the pinnacle of English and European football, where it truly belongs. This is why I have stepped forward with this offer.”

The 57-year-old self-made billionaire, who ironically is known to be a die-hard Manchester United fan, say he’s keen to see the struggling Reds succeed again.

“The club needs to strengthen its existing squad. As part of this offer, I will be injecting £40m in cash into the Club for Roy Hodgson to bring in new players during the upcoming transfer window. Liverpool needs to start winning again!,” he said.

He also left no doubt as to the seriousness of his offer to buy out the Anfield club, whose prized player assets include Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

“My offer provides a firm financial platform from which the club can rebuild. Given the manner in which the sale process has been handled, I feel Martin (Broughton) and the Board owe it to me, to the Club, and to the supporters, to consider my offer,” he concluded.

He did not make any mention of Manchester United or the rival bid by American consortium NESV, who are funded by American billionaire John Henry.

Football fans in Singapore, however, have reacted in equal doses of surprise and puzzlement.

Lim, who’s known to be a huge football fan, is ranked the eighth-richest Singaporean with an estimated wealth of S$2 billion by Forbes.

But what rankles many Reds fans is that he’s also known to be a die-hard fan of English arch-rival club, Manchester United.

Lim has exclusive rights to own and operate a chain of Red Devils-themed restaurants and bars in Asia. Singapore-listed fashion retailer FJ Benjamin, in which Lim is the second-largest shareholder, also previously operated the Manchester United Theatre of Dreams store at Orchard Parade Hotel.

Manager Desmond Tan, 34, who has been supporting Liverpool for over 20 years, said,”How can someone with ties to Manchester United want Liverpool to do well? It’s seriously conflicting. If he even wants to be taken seriously, he needs to give up his Man U ties first.”

But what if Lim, who is known to be a shrewd investor, has the resources to turn the debt-saddled Anfield giants around?

Tan replied, “Will you let your wife sleep with one rich businessman like in the show “Indecent Proposal” just so that you can stay afloat? I cannot accept it. If the deal goes through, I will still support the Reds, but I will not be supporting anything he does. Why can’t he buy Manchester United instead? Don’t they have debts too?”

Another Liverpool fan, Amir Syarifuddin, 36, said Lim deserved a chance.

“If he is a businessman, then the success of the club will always come first ,so he will do everything to see the club succeed,” said the engineer, who’s been a Reds fan for over 15 years.

Polytechnic lecturer, Edwin Lim, who’s a die-hard Red Devil, offered a different perspective.

“It just goes to show Peter Lim is a football fan, first and foremost, and then an English Premier League fan. I hope Liverpool fans can finally stop saying that we Man U fans do not care about Liverpool at all. We know that if Liverpool didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are today,” he said.

Another football fan, Gabriel Wong, 25, who doesn’t support either Liverpool or Man United, said, “From a neutral standpoint, Peter Lim’s bid may seem more attractive because, at least, he’s willing to stake his personal fortune in the club. For all you know, accepting the US bid might lead to a similar situation with George Gillett and Tom Hicks later on.”

US BILLIONAIRE JOHN HENRY V SINGAPORE’S PETER LIM

The buyout talks involving Liverpool are rapidly turning into a complex tug-of-war between American billionaire John Henry and Singapore’s very own Peter Lim.

US billionaire John Henry, who owns NESV and the Boston Red Sox, is up against Singapore's very own billionaire, Peter Lim. (Reuters file photo)

Lim was reportedly told by text message last week that Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton had rejected his offer in favour of a rival bid from New England Sports Ventures (NESV), which is funded by US billionaire John Henry.

NESV, which also owns US Major League Baseball side, the Boston Red Sox, has now signed a binding agreement but current club co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. are trying to block the sale because they say it undervalues the club.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, which holds the bulk of Liverpool’s debt, has since obtained an interim injunction preventing the co-owners from firing board members — chairman Broughton, commercial director Ian Ayre and managing director Christian Purslow — for accepting the sale.

The case goes to court on Tuesday. If the court rules in favour of the Americans, then the sale of Liverpool to NESV will fall through — which may provide Lim with an avenue to once again pursue his interest of the Merseyside club.

Peter Lim is seen at his condominium at Ardmore Park in Singapore in this July 12, 2007 file photo. (Reuters)

The BBC has quoted sources close to Lim that said he was in fact the club’s “preferred bidder” in the closing stages of the talks.

Lim reportedly was so confident he would win the contest he was discussing with Broughton about how to announce his takeover only to be texted at the last minute that Liverpool had gone with NESV’s rival bid of £300m.

“He never had a chance to negotiate directly with Royal Bank (of Scotland). He was expecting to do so, after agreeing the takeover with the board,” said the source close to Mr Lim.

Lim reportedly still does not know why Mr Broughton went with NESV, especially considering that his “more attractive” bid would be funded entirely from his own cash resources with no borrowing involved.

However, ESPN Soccernet has since reported that NESV would not allow Lim to muscle his way into the deal despite his improved offer.

The son of a fishmonger, Lim made his fortune as a stock broker and became a private investor in 1996. He keeps a relatively low profile and is media-shy but his key stock holdings include stakes in Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil firm, and regional education provider Informatics, which he turned around after the firm had fallen on hard times.

Earlier this month, he invested about US$100 million in Global Logistic Properties, a giant provider of warehouse facilities in China and Japan that is majority owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

People who know Lim said his interest in Liverpool stemmed from his love of soccer, and he recently donated S$10 million ($7.65 million) to the Singapore Olympics Foundation for scholarships for promising young athletes from poor families.

[ngunadi 2]

Never heard his proposal in the international soccer site.

Most probably only publicity stunt.

[patsy_sg 1]

it's all in the Brit papers!

he even had his lawyers at the court hearing yesterday.