Hicks And Gillett Complete Takeover Of Liverpool

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) _ Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. completed their takeover of the Liverpool soccer team on Tuesday. <br/><br/>The pair's company,

Tuesday, March 27th 2007, 1:20 pm

By: News On 6

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) _ Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. completed their takeover of the Liverpool soccer team on Tuesday.

The pair's company, Kop Football, told the London Stock Exchange it has reached an agreement to buy 98.6 percent of the club's shares. Under stock market rules, shareholders can be forced to sell the remainder of the stock.

Hicks, who also owns the Dallas Stars, and Gillett will now seek to take Liverpool private. Liverpool's board agreed to the takeover on Feb. 6 after rejecting a rival bid from Dubai International Capital. The new owners plan to build a 60,000-seat stadium in Stanley Park and move the club from Anfield, which seats 45,000.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer controls Manchester United and Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner took over Aston Villa this season.