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Henry on verge of takeover

John Henry was in London on Thursday © Getty Images

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John W Henry is confident his New England Sports Ventures group will see off a "last desperate attempt" to retain the club as Tom Hicks looks to pay off the debt prior to the Royal Bank of Scotland's deadline.

Chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre defeated George Gillett and Hicks' attempt to reconstitute the board and thereby block the sale to NESV in the High Court on Wednesday, but the deal could not be completed as the duo secured a temporary restraining order from a Dallas court.

The High Court then ruled in favour of the English board members for a second time on Thursday, telling Gillett and Hicks that they had until 1600 BST on Friday to withdraw the restraining order. A hearing in Dallas on Thursday was subsequently reconvened for 1300 BST - 7am local time - with representatives of the Liverpool board hoping to see the order lifted.

It is expected that that hearing will take around one hour, which would - if the judge rules against Gillett and Hicks - theoretically allow Liverpool time to formally complete the sale to NESV before the Royal Bank of Scotland's 1700 BST deadline to call in its debts.

However, Hicks appears set to try to enlist Mill Financial - an arm of US hedge fund Springfield Financial Company, based in Virginia, which owns Gillett's 50% of the club after he defaulted on payments two months ago - to pay the debt owed to RBS, which has now risen to £280 million with penalty fees. If this happens, Mill Financial would effectively become the owners of Liverpool and the move would scupper the NESV takeover.

Hicks denied on Thursday that he had sold his shares, as his spokesman insisted the Texan remained in control of his 50% stake in the club, however the ever-more desperate owner may be resorted to selling in a bid to keep NESV away.

Still, Henry, who already believes NESV to be the owners of the club, remains optimistic about the chances of legal success in his homeland on Friday.

"We have a binding contract," he wrote on Twitter. "Will fight Mill Hicks Gillett attempt to keep club today. Their last desperate attempt to entrench their regime."

Broughton had said on Thursday that the sale was "nearly there", but one of Henry's aides has told ESPNsoccernet that Hicks is trying a last throw of the dice with Mill Financial.

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