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Dubai Abandons Bid to Buy Liverpool Club

DUBAI - Dubai has reportedly abandoned its bid to buy Liverpool Football Club after months of negotiations to reach an agreement on the valuation of the premier league football club.

Amanda Staveley, who has been negotiating on behalf of Dubai since the beginning of the year, has informed the UK club’s US owners that it was ending the move because of their refusal to lower an “unrealistic” $893 million valuation, UK newspapers reported on Monday.

Dubai through state-owned investment vehicle Dubai International Capital (DIC) first said it was in negotiations to buy Liverpool with its then owners in December 2006, but the American buyers Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr won a bidding war, paying £218.9 million.

Although DIC announced that it was abandoning its bid to buy the club as the battle between the club’s co-owners appeared to intensify, negotiations have been going on to reach a settlement over the price.

The club’s owners, reportedly have been desperate to find a buyer as a $520 million loan agreement with Bank of Scotland and Wachovia expires on January 25.

Hicks and Gillett are hopeful that an extension to this will be granted, the report said.

Some financial analysts believe that with Dubai no longer interested, a purchaser will probably only now be found if the Americans are forced into a fire sale by their banks foreclosing on them or them running out of money.

· issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com