A Chinese businessman backed by a Far East government has put in a bid for Liverpool Football Club.
Kenneth Huang has made a formal offer to the club’s American owners and is believed to be keen to move quickly to secure a deal.
He has offered to buy the club’s £237 debt from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr would not make a profit from such a deal if it were to go through.
Huang, chairman of the Hong Kong-based QSL Sports Group, is a former badminton ace. He is believed to be supported by a business partner who in turn has the financial backing of a Far East Government.
Huang is a former Wall Street broker and was the first Chinese national to work at the New York Stock Exchange. He owns his own basketball league in China and was voted philanthropist of the year by BQ Magazine and Sina.com in recognition of his many charitable donations.
“A deal has to be done before the transfer window closes,” a source close to Huang told the BBC. “Huang has made a firm proposal. The club’s board has to sanction the sale and it could be sewn up in days.”
Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool FC for £218.9m in February 2007. Gillett is believed to have told RBS that he is in negotiations with Yahya Kirdi, a Syrian businessman and former international footballer, but this could just be a move to get Huang to up his offer.
