George N. Gillett Jr.

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Since October 2006, Gillett and fellow American Tom Hicks had been parties interested in a proposed takeover of Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League. [16] In January 2007, Reports stated that Gillett had made another bid for Liverpool. On January 31, 2007, Dubai International Capital announced they had pulled out of the deal, giving Gillett the opportunity to buy the club from David Moores. On February 2, 2007, Gillett and Hicks reached a deal with the club's board, which was sealed on February 6, thought to be worth in the region of £435 million: £220 million to buy out existing shareholders (including approximately £44.8 million of debt), and £215 million for the new stadium proposed at nearby Stanley Park. The Board unanimously recommended that the club's shareholders accept this offer.

On January 22, 2008, a majority of Liverpool fans, at the game between Liverpool and Aston Villa, protested against Gillett and Hicks' running of the club, urging the pair to sell their shares in Liverpool F.C. to Dubai International Capital (DIC). Neither owner, nor their representative Foster Gillett were present at the game. Gillett was reportedly targeted by DIC to sell his shares. It was reported that he has fallen out with Tom Hicks and in recent months has kept silent over his dealing with the club. [17] On March 7, 2008, it was reported that Gillett had agreed to sell 98 per cent of his Liverpool stock to DIC, [18] but Hicks blocked the sale. [19] In an interview on Prime Time Sports in Canada, Gillett revealed that he and his family had received death threats from angry Liverpool fans: "The fans don’t want him [Tom Hicks] to have even one share of my stake in the club, based on what they are sending to me. As a result of that we [my family] have received many phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives, death threats. A number came to the office and my son, Foster, and daughter-in-law, Lauren, have received them." [20] The relationship between Gillett and Hicks broke down some time ago, leading to in-fighting at Anfield. [21]

It has been reported that former manager Rafael Benítez's relationship with Hicks and Gillett had become increasingly strained and he was fired on June 2, 2010, after a poor season which saw the club finish seventh in the Premier League, missing out on UEFA Champions League football for the following season. [22]

As of October 15, 2010, Gillett had lost ownership of Liverpool F.C., and despite numerous attempts to prevent it, the club was sold to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), for a fee believed to be around £300M which was far below his valuation of "between £600M and £1 billion (B)", by the Liverpool F.C. board of directors in a 3–2 vote.

As of November 2010, Gillett was personally named in a lawsuit filed by Mill Financial, seeking $117 million. Mill Financial, based in Springfield, Virginia, reportedly refinanced a loan used by Gillett to buy a big stake in Liverpool F.C. in 2007. Gillett's partner in the deal was Tom Hicks. Gillett and Hicks, dba Gillett Football LLC, lost control of Liverpool F.C. after they were unable to stop the Royal Bank of Scotland, which financed their original purchase of the team, from selling Liverpool F.C. The bank sold Liverpool F.C. to Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry’s New England Sports Ventures at a price that was lower than expected. At the same time the Liverpool issue was occurring, Gillett's Richard Petty Motorsports fell into financial trouble.

On January 11, 2013, Hicks and Gillett finally decided to drop their case in the English law courts against Sir Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre, the three directors on the board of Liverpool F.C. at the time of the sale of the club to NESV. They also agreed to drop their case against NESV and RBS Bank. The terms of the agreement are confidential, though it is believed that no monies were paid to Hicks or Gillett. Earlier in the week, Hicks and Gillett had lost a Court of Appeal bid to delay a High Court trial, so they could have more time to raise the monies needed to fund the multimillion-pound lawsuit. [23]

As of 2016, Gillett is still paying £1.5 million per year in interest payments to Mill Financial, who lent him £50 million for his failed investment in Liverpool. [24]

Other interests

Other former Gillett business interests include:

Gillett's other current business interests include:

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References

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  2. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting . July 14, 1986. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
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  8. Stone, David (2001). "An American Buys the Canadiens – Montreal Canadiens may be purchased by businessman George Gillett Jr. – Brief Article". Hockey Digest. Archived from the original on July 16, 2004.
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  10. "Gillett buys majority ownership of Evernham team". ESPN. August 6, 2007.
  11. "Richard Petty Motorsports born out of GEM merger".
  12. "Richard Petty Is a Buyer in the Sale of Petty Motorsports". NY Times. November 30, 2010.
  13. "Gillett launches MLS bid". Sky Sports . March 27, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  14. "Montreal withdraws MLS expansion bid". CBC News. November 22, 2008.
  15. "NHL approves sale of Canadiens to Molson brothers". The Star. Toronto. December 1, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  16. Bose, Mihir (November 16, 2006). "Moores holds up Liverpool takeover". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved May 3, 2010.[ dead link ]
  17. "The Anfield Divorce". February 26, 2008.
  18. "DIC accepts minority 'Pool stake". CNN. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008.
  19. Northcroft, Jonathan (April 13, 2008). "Anfield anarchy". The Sunday Times. London: News International Group. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  20. "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
  21. "Gillett hits back at Hicks in row". BBC Sport. April 17, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  22. "Spaniard departs Anfield after six years at the helm". Sky Sports. June 3, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  23. Nakrani, Sachin (January 11, 2013). "Tom Hicks and George Gillett drop allegations against Liverpool directors". The Guardian.
  24. "George Gillett still paying £125,000 a month debt after Liverpool nightmare". independent. March 2, 2016.
George N. Gillett Jr.
Chairman, Liverpool Football Club
In office
February 6, 2007 October 15, 2010
Servingwith Tom Hicks