The Liverpool soccer club has agreed in principle to accept Thailand’s bid for a 30% stake in the team, the Thai prime minister said on Tuesday.
”In principle, they agreed to give it to us and now we are working on details,” Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters. ”It has moved forward in a good way … we still have to work out the details.”
He said he was contacted by Liverpool on Monday night via fax and e-mail and that the two sides still have four points to discuss, but that an agreement for the purchase ”should be finished by this week”.
”By June, things will probably be concluded officially,” Thaksin added.
Sports Authority of Thailand governor Santhiparb Thechavanija told a local radio station that he was flying to the United Kingdom later on Tuesday to work out fine points of the purchase and to invite Liverpool striker Michael Owen and midfielder Stephen Gerrard to witness the signing ceremony in Thailand.
Thai officials have said they plan to set up a company to raise the 4,6-billion baht ($115-million) they have offered for the 30% stake in the club. The Sports Authority of Thailand, a government body, will hold 51% of the company and the rest will be allocated to private investors.
Tourist and Sport Minister Sonthaya Khunpleum said on Tuesday that the sports authority will introduce a special lottery to raise money to cover the stake, as well as promote sports in Thailand and cover management costs.
Officials hope to raise about 10-billion baht ($245-million) in the lottery plan that was to go before a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Sonthaya said.
Billionaire tycoon-turned-politician Thaksin at first hinted that he would use his personal fortune to acquire the Liverpool shares, but later gave the deal a populist spin by saying all Thais should have part ownership in the team.
On Saturday, Thaksin said owning a stake in Liverpool could deliver economic benefits to local businesses through merchandising deals and help launch lucrative international careers for young Thai soccer players.
Thaksin also wants Liverpool to set up a soccer academy in Thailand as part of the deal. — Sapa-AP