US duo to buy Liverpool soccer club for 340 mln dollar

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) English Premier League soccer club Liverpool have agreed to be taken over by US sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks for 174 million pounds (340 million dollar).

Gillett and Hicks, through their Kop Football Ltd vehicle, said on Tuesday they would pay 5,000 pounds per Liverpool share and the total value of the deal, including debt, was 219 million pounds.

Billionaire Hicks is the owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars ice hockey team, while Gillett owns ice hockey rival Montreal Canadiens.

Liverpool, 2005 European Champions, have been seeking an injection of cash for two years to help challenge for top honours and fund a new stadium.

The 18-times English league champions had been in talks with Dubai International Capital (DIC), but DIC dropped its bid plans last week.

Gillett had an initial offer for Liverpool rejected late last year. Media reports said this included a plan to share a ground with city rivals Everton that was unacceptable to Liverpool's majority shareholder and chairman David Moores.

Gillett and Hicks said on Tuesday they had never discussed such a plan and they intended to build a new 60,000-seat stadium for which the club has already received planning permission.

They are also committed to an annual budget for player transfers as well as current club executives and team management, they said in a statement.

''I believe this is a great step forward for Liverpool, its shareholders and its fans,'' Moores said in a statement.

The deal follows a string of similar takeovers of English soccer clubs by wealthy individuals, with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich buying London club Chelsea in 2003 and US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer buying Manchester United in 2005.

REUTERS PDS PM1851