Liverpool takeover: Owners FSG deny £700m offer from Chinese firm SinoFortone
Liverpool's owners have poured cold water on reports they have been approached by a Chinese firm to buy the club for £700m.
A letter circulating on social media appeared to show Chinese investment group SinoFortone offering Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) £700m for the Premier League club.
But according to the Liverpool Echo, FSG officials say they have had no contact with the group.
The letter, dated February 10 2016, appeared to be sent from SinoFortone's London offices and included detailed plans to buy the club and build a new stadium in the Liverpool docks area.
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It read: “We understand that this would be based around a valuation in the region of £700m; and that we are interested in funding the development of a new stadium in the docks area, and the redevelopment of both Anfield and Melwood, all in conjunction with Liverpool City Council; and the development of a series of football training academies across China.”
FSG, however, claim to have received no such correspondence. The website placed in the letter, sinofortone.com, is currently inaccessible, and the note is signed by Peter Zheng — SinoFortone's UK director is named Peter Zhang.
The American sports investment company, which also owns baseball giants Boston Red Sox, has previously made public their commitment to Liverpool for the "long-term".
After clearing £69m from the club's accounts in March, Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre said: "It just tells you the type of commitment they have and it is very much a long term commitment."
Even if FSG were interested in selling the Merseyside club, recent independent valuations of Liverpool estimate its worth to be higher than £700m.
KPMG valued Liverpool as the eighth most valuable club in the world, worth £940m, while Forbes values the club at just over £1bn.
Liverpool enjoyed revenue of just under £300m in the 2014/15 season, a figure set to swell in the immediate future following the influx of increased TV riches from the Premier League's £8bn broadcasting deal which comes into effect next season.