A Chinese investor withdrew his bid to buy Liverpool on Friday despite claiming that his takeover plans would have provided the Premier League club with money for transfers and a new stadium.
Kenny Huang, through his investment company QSL Sports, was the first bidder to publicly declare an interest in buying Liverpool after the financially troubled club was put up for sale by co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.
Huang announced he was "withdrawing from the ongoing sales process" a week after Liverpool's board reviewed several bids and indicated the prospect of any of them succeeding was uncertain.
"Over the past few months we learned firsthand that Liverpool has a very special place in the hearts of millions of fans around the world," Huang said in a statement. "We concluded that a plan that properly capitalizes the business and provides funds for a new stadium and player related costs would allow Liverpool FC to provide its great fans with the success they deserve.
"Our strategy and unique ability to expand the fan base in Asia would also 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."
Hicks and Gillett hired a new chairman, Martin Broughton, in April to search for a buyer in conjunction with Barclays Capital bank. The Americans had bought Liverpool three years earlier in a deal valued then at about $431 million, but the leveraged takeover led to debts of about $540 million in the last published accounts.
The only other publicly known declaration of interest is from a consortium fronted by Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi.
Having pulled out of the running for the Merseyside club, Huang said: "I am now considering my future options and will be making no further comment at this time."
Huang already owns a Chinese basketball team and invested this year in the previously obscure Chinese National Basketball League. With Marc Ganis, a partner in QSL who runs Chicago-based company Sportscorp, Huang represents the New York Yankees in China.
Ganis said earlier this month that he was willing to pay off Liverpool's debts, invest heavily in the team and its players, and build the long-delayed new stadium to replace Anfield.
Though five-time European champions, Liverpool's fortunes have waned recently and it could only manage a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season amid injury problems and a lack of investment in the squad.
Liverpool has won 18 English league titles, the last coming in 1990, and its record has been matched by Manchester United.
