American business tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks have successfully completed their planned takeover of Liverpool Football Club, the board announced today.
The investment group set up by the pair, aptly named Kop Football, has purchased 28,089 shares in the club, which equates to 80.7 per cent of the total ownership – easily surpassing the required 75 per cent stake holding for unconditional control.
An offer to buy the remaining stock holding has been extended to shareholders until March 26th in a bid to secure total ownership of the club, although a further extension to this date could still be made.
Gillett and Hicks have pledged a substantial investment into the club in order to help with the proposed move to a new stadium in Stanley Park, which will be a 60,000 all-seater ground.
Several ardent fans have spoken of their dismay at having to leave their spiritual home of Anfield but few argue that the switch to a larger ground can be avoided in the name of progress.
The club is losing out on a substantial amount of revenue because of the smaller capacity of their current stadium, which is little more than 40,000 – only just over half the size of Old Trafford, the home of arch-rivals Manchester United.
The new owners of Liverpool FC attended their first live match at Anfield earlier this week – the home leg of the Champions League tie against Barcelona – which the Reds lost 1-0 on the night but deservedly progressed in the tournament on away goals thanks to a 2-1 win in the Nou Camp.
After the game, the pair described the atmosphere inside the famous arena as "amazing" and "electrifying" and expressed their renewed pleasure at being able to complete the purchase of the club.
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