Two weeks ago New England Sports Ventures (NESV) agreed to purchase the Premier League Football club, Liverpool. The deal was facilitated through a vote by the team’s board which ousted the team’s current ownership in a forced sale. The soccer club, one of the most successful in league history, has been mired in recent years under crushing debt and abysmal performance. The fans, the banks, and the board had had enough.
So you’re probably asking what soccer, and more specifically Liverpool, have to do with NASCAR? Well, not a whole lot, except the two share past and present owners – George Gillett and John Henry.
NESV, if you’re unfamiliar, is a sports investment company principally owned by billionaire John Henry. Among the company’s assets are the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and half of Roush Fenway Racing.
The guys unceremoniously booted out of Anfield are Tom Hicks, the former owner of the Texas Rangers and current owner of the Dallas Stars, and George Gillett, the former owner of the Montreal Canadiens and current owner of Richard Petty Motorsports.
Hicks (who by the way has been in the news this year because of the bankruptcy and subsequent takeover and sale of his Texas Rangers) and Gillett sought an injunction in the sale of Liverpool. The High Court in London turned down the pair and a Texas judge, after briefly granting an injunction, allowed the sale to move forward. Hicks and Gillett have threatened a billion dollar lawsuit – they have backed off this some though.
What makes this particularly uncomfortable in NASCAR is the close partnership Gillett’s Richard Petty Motorsports has with Henry’s Roush Fenway Racing. The two share equipment, drivers, and a compound in Concord, NC. Now John Henry isn’t exactly a fixture in North Carolina, but you can imagine, with Gillett and Hicks likely to lose A LOT of money, where this might be less than ideal.
You can amp up the uncomfortableness should Gillett and Hicks decide to do file a lawsuit against those involved in the sale, including Henry’s NESV.
In all honesty, I don’t think the business relationship of RPM and RFR is any worse for the wear, but it’s still an interesting story. Just think, if you’re Foster Gillett, George Gillett’s son and the managing partner of RPM, what happens if you have to deal with the Fenway Sports Group, NESV or John Henry himself?
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