Merrill Lynch enlisted by Tom Hicks in Liverpool FC buyout bid

Apr 10 2008

LIVERPOOL FC co-owner Tom Hicks has enlisted the help of American investment bank Merrill Lynch to advise him on a possible bid to buy-out fellow chairman George Gillett.

Hicks was in London last week to watch the club’s opening Champions League Quarter Final at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, and also the Premier League game on Saturday.

He has now travelled back to Texas, but his son Tom Junior represented him at Anfield at Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final decider against Arsenal.

The last time Tom Junior attended a match at Anfield was against Middlesbrough on February 23, when he went for a drink afterwards at the Sandon pub where he was spat at, had beer thrown at him and needed to be rescued by minders.

Meanwhile, Hicks and Gillett are trying to find a way through their impasse since Gillett admitted to a Canadian radio station that their partnership had broken down.

Last month, Hicks rejected Dubai International Capital’s (DIC) £400m bid for the club and vetoed Gillett selling his 50% stake in the club.