Mukesh Ambani, Subrata Roy bid for Liverpool FC
06 Aug 2010
The battle for control of the legendary English Premier League football club, the Anfield-based Liverpool Football Club, has apparently intensified with reports suggesting that Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Subrata Roy have jumped into the fray along with a Chinese financial speculator. Liverpool FC is one of England's most successful football clubs but currently are in urgent need of a financial bailout.
Apparently, the two Indian tycoons and the Chinese speculator, Kenny Huang, are part of a six-strong field of bidders.
Mukesh Ambani owns Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest company by market capitalization, while Subrata Roy, owner of the Sahara Group, has been a long-time sponsor of the Indian cricket team. He is also a sponsor of the Indian hockey team and an owner of one of the two new teams inducted into the Indian Premier League, the hugely popular cricket tourney.
Liverpool Football Club, founded in 1892 and popularly known as the 'Reds,'are a professional football club who play in the English Premier League and are the most successful team in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other club. They have won a record eighteen league titles, seven FA Cups, seven League Cups, three UEFA Cups and five European Cups, an English record.
Meanwhile, a report in the popular UK tabloid The Sun says Kenny Huang's bid is backed by the $332-billion Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC).
While RBS has denied any talks on a sale and has said all approaches would be forwarded to Barclays Capital, which has been instructed to find a buyer for the club, other reports suggest that the CIC also has denied any links with Kenny Huang's bid.
