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• Chinese investor loses patience with drawn-out process
• Anfield insiders claim decision could be negotiating tactic

Kenny Huang last night informed Martin Broughton, the chairman of Liverpool, that he was breaking off talks regarding a takeover of the club, with one individual close to the Chinese investor’s consortium privately revealing that Huang had received leaked intelligence from within the sale process that his was perceived to be the only viable bid under consideration.

It is a point the board disputes, but that belief, coupled with his frustrations at the pace of progress in negotiations, led to his withdrawal . A statement on behalf of Huang announced: “After due consideration, Kenny Huang and QSL Sports is [sic] withdrawing from the ongoing sales process with respect to Liverpool. Mr. Huang has formally notified the chairman of the Liverpool board.”

Yet, in a hint typical of the smoke-and-mirrors process to sell Liverpool, Huang indicated his decision is not necessarily final, and even those involved in selling the club conceded his announcement could be a negotiating tactic. “I am now considering my future options and will be making no further comment at this time,” he added in his statement.

Huang’s perception that his consortium was the only to have made a credible proposal is something the board has disputed throughout. The Liverpool chief executive, Christian Purslow, stated on Sunday that there were five bids on the table. Even following Huang’s withdrawal, there were still indications from those involved in the sale process that there remain multiple bids under consideration. This discordant view is characteristic of a muddled process that has seen several interested parties attempting to maintain irreconcilable positions. Broughton’s great challenge is to attempt to channel a divided board towards a single outcome. This, as last night’s development demonstrates, has not been easy.

Broughton has maintained that his principal concern is to ensure not that the club is sold but that it is sold to the right bidder, one who can pay off the debts, finance the purchase of a new stadium and guarantee the future funding of the club.

The current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are said to be motivated by a desire to recover their money. They injected £84.6m in the 12 months to July last year, on top of £60.7m they had already plunged into the club in their previous two years as owners, and they are also hoping to gain some cash return for their shares. This meant they were not disposed to approving the Huang bid.

“Our goals do not include enriching the current owners,” said Huang’s long-term business partner, Marc Ganis, recently.

Gillett, meanwhile, has been promoting the credentials of Yahya Kirdi, whose proposal was said to include hundreds of millions of pounds for the shares that others consider worthless. There have been fears that if Broughton and his investment-banking advisers, Barcap, were to dismiss this out of hand in favour of Huang’s bid, it could leave him open to a personal liability for litigation from Hicks and Gillett.

Yet the patience of Huang, who is said to have been keen in investing heavily in the transfer market, has snapped. His camp stresses he has fulfilled every request for documentation asked of him, including proof of funds. This has never been corroborated by those charged with selling the club.

“Over the past few months we learned first hand that Liverpool has a very special place in the hearts of millions of fans around the world,” Huang’s statement went on to say. “We concluded that a plan that properly capitalises the business and provides funds for a new stadium and player-related costs would allow Liverpool to provide its great fans with the success they deserve.

“Our strategy and unique ability to expand the fan base in Asia would have been of benefit to all. We regret that we will not have the opportunity to implement this strategy. We thank the many Liverpool fans who expressed support for our efforts and wish the club great success in the years to come.”

The Spirit of Shankly supporters’ groups has for one been left frustrated by Huang’s decision to walk away from a possible Anfield buyout. A spokesman said: “We have got questions and we need and deserve the answers. We are the important stakeholders in all of this.The anger and frustration is growing and the situation at the club needs resolution sooner rather than later, but it is imperative that we get it right. The nightmare [of Hicks and Gillett] needs bringing to an end.”

There remains a belief, held not only by Hicks and Gillett, that Liverpool is undervalued. However, Huang will now observe the sale process from a distance. If he does return to the table, it will be with a reduced offer for the debt holder, the Royal Bank of Scotland. RBS would then face the invidious decision as to whether to subsume Liverpool within its own group by swapping its debt for equity and managing the club through its corporate restructuring team, or to accept whatever other bids later arise.

LiverpoolMatt Scottguardian.co.uk

• Kenny Huang makes Spanish striker pivotal to any bid
• Offer is ‘one of several’, claims chairman Martin Broughton

Kenny Huang’s bid for Liverpool is only one of “several” offers for the club, according to their chairman, Martin Broughton.

Huang has yet to enter formal due diligence, but talks are sufficiently advanced with other bidders for there to be the prospect of a takeover at Anfield before the closure of the transfer window on 31 August. That could have an effect on the future of the striker Fernando Torres, who returned to training at Melwood today.

“It still remains the objective to conclude a deal before the end of the transfer window,” Broughton told the Guardian tonight. “That remains the objective but there are no deadlines, and we will continue working to complete the process.”

Broughton conceded that 31 August is “a very important date” for fans and some Liverpool players. Torres is highly coveted – both Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly on alert – but such is the Spaniard’s stature that his departure would affect the valuation of the club in one bidder’s case, at least.

The apparent existence of multiple bidders means that the club’s US co-owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, could end up making a significant profit from their controversial three-year tenure at Anfield. However, the pair will not have the final say in who may take over.

“There could be a possible realisation of an equity consideration,” Broughton said. “But both George Gillett and Tom Hicks remain on the board and they have given commitments that the board of Kop Holdings [Liverpool's UK parent] is the party that is responsible for the sale.”

Gillett and Hicks are believed to have placed an US$800m (£504m) valuation on Liverpool, but sources close to the talks insist they will have to accept a much-reduced sum once any deal is concluded. With only a calendar month until the close of the transfer window, the completion of due diligence must come fast. Yet, as an indication of how far advanced talks are with the interested parties, no money has yet been transferred into an escrow account, which would be one of the final steps before a transaction can be finalised.

Huang, a China-born Wall Street financier, raised the prospect of a bid for Liverpool on behalf of a sovereign wealth fund belonging to what has been described only as a large country in east Asia.

There had been suggestions that Huang would seek to acquire the debt from Liverpool’s principal lender, Royal Bank of Scotland, in an effort to gain financial control over the club. However, Broughton insisted that is not the case.

“Any bids that go straight to RBS – and there have been several – come to me and are directed to Barcap,” Broughton said. “RBS are not involved. The control remains with the board.”

The part-nationalised RBS bank retains confidence that Broughton and Barcap – the investment-banking division of Barclays bank, retained to conduct takeover negotiations – will be able to conclude a deal before the next refinancing deadline, in October.

Whether that will be with Huang is another matter. However, it is known that he wishes to expedite discussions.

“He wants to get it done quickly so investment can come this summer,” a source close to his proposed bid claimed. “Liverpool need investment in the playing squad and infrastructure, and Huang wants to build the [new] stadium. The club has an outstanding reputation but does not have the infrastructure to keep with it and make it grow.”

One thing is clear, however. Huang considers Torres’s retention at Anfield to be central to the success of his investment in Liverpool. One member of his retinue said he views the Spaniard as a “talismanic” figure whose departure would alter his valuation of the club.

Torres has told friends he is committed to remaining a Liverpool player but reserves the right to quit if they are incapable of meeting his ambitions.

LiverpoolFernando TorresMatt Scottguardian.co.uk

• Midfielder indicates desire to remain at Anfield
• ‘It’s a great piece of news,’ says new manager

Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool manager, has welcomed Steven Gerrard’s decision to all but commit himself to the club today.

The midfielder, who has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid, welcomed the arrival of new signing Joe Cole today, claiming “it will be fantastic to play alongside him [Cole] in a red shirt for Liverpool.” Gerrard also said he was “impressed” with Hodgson’s plans for the team ahead of the new Premier League season.

“It’s a great piece of news,” Hodgson said of Gerrard’s endorsements. “There won’t be anyone in Liverpool today who isn’t delighted to hear that. I’m really pleased about it because I’ve got great respect for Steven Gerrard. He’s a player who I was really looking forward to working with when I came to Liverpool. It seems now with that commitment that this will happen. It gives everyone a boost without question.

“It will be a tough season with a lot of matches and the disappointment of last season is going to take a while to dissipate, but it is very good that our best player is still going to be playing at this club.

“Hopefully with the signing of Joe Cole – and if we are lucky one or two others, to boost the squad – we will be going into this season’s competition, maybe stronger on paper than we were last season.”

Meanwhile, Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman, has told prospective owners of the club that they must work to win over the supporters.

Broughton is in charge of overseeing a takeover at Anfield after the current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett decided to sell-up in April. No offers have been registered but Broughton, who is also the chairman of British Airways, has stated his confidence that a deal can be done before the end of the year.

“As long as we get sensible offers, we can do a deal,” he said. “We are out there to find someone wealthy. But it’s important that they can win popular support. Putting them [Liverpool] back in their rightful position is in the interests of British football and the league. Seventh [where the club finished in the Premier League last season] is not their rightful position, and neither is administration.”

Steven GerrardLiverpoolRoy Hodgsonguardian.co.uk