As the clock ticked towards last night's midnight deadline, Dubai International Capital (DIC) was in advanced negotiations with the lawyers of George Gillett Jr over a £200 million deal to buy his 50 per cent stake in Liverpool. Despite reports from the United States that he and Tom Hicks had rejected the overall £400 million takeover bid, Gillett was giving serious consideration to accepting the offer as his lawyers held talks with DIC representatives in London.

Sources in the United States had suggested that Gillett was likely to reject the offer and hold out for more money or sell to Hicks. However, with his partnership with Hicks having disintegrated since their arrival on Merseyside 13 months ago, sources close to the talks said that Gillett was tempted to accept the offer from DIC, the private-equity investment arm of the Dubai Government, and walk away with a £25 million profit on his original investment.

As revealed in The Times yesterday, the offer was made last Wednesday by Amanda Staveley, a senior partner at PCP, a private equity firm, which is advising DIC on the deal. At the time the offer was made, DIC said that it wanted an answer from Gillett by midnight last night, contrary to denials by its spokeswoman in Dubai yesterday. As to whether that meant midnight in Dubai, London or in Gillett's home town of Vail, Colorado, sources suggested that the deadline might be extended to his local time. If it is not accepted, the offer would be withdrawn in the belief that the American will soon call DIC back to the negotiating table.

It is an elaborate, high-stakes game of poker and one from which Hicks is, in some senses, barred while DIC puts pressure on Gillett. Sources close to the Texan were quoted yesterday morning as saying that he had “turned down the []offer immediately upon receipt” and that Gillett had done likewise. It emerged, though, that there had been no such rejection from either party. On the contrary, DIC felt that Gillett's stance was softening and that he might accept the offer, which would place Hicks's ownership of the club under serious pressure.

Sameer al-Ansari, the DIC chief executive, hinted at the differences between the stances of the two Americans when he ended his silence on the issue yesterday morning. “It is no secret we are in discussions with the current owners,” al-Ansari said. “It's not easy because the owners are living in dreamland about valuations at the moment.” In the same interview, al-Ansari added that “one of the owners [Gillett] has come out of dreamland”, without giving any further details.

If Gillett were to accept the £200 million offer, Hicks believes that he will soon have the capital to match it and to buy out his business partner under the terms of an agreement that gives the two co-chairmen first refusal on each other's shares. Hicks has spent recent weeks exploring ways to raise the money needed to buy Gillett's stake - one option is through the selling of shares in the Hicks Sports Group, which includes his investments in the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars ice hockey franchise. However, he has been quoted as saying that it is “premature” to say that the funds or guarantees are in place. Hicks also believes that he has the power to dictate to whom Gillett sells his stake, although DIC rejects this claim.

Hicks has also held talks with Staveley over the past eight weeks, but for now he is so determined to stop his 50 per cent stake from being matched that he is said to have urged Gillett to sell 1 per cent of the club to him, even if he then sells the remainder to DIC. Such a move would leave him in majority control. DIC, however, has made clear to both of Liverpool's owners that it will not contemplate buying a minority stake in the club. With Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, behind the bid, DIC is determined to secure Gillett's stake and then turn its attention to buying out Hicks.

Even if Gillett rejects the bid, DIC believes that difficult financial conditions will force him to reconsider soon, but if that is to be the case he will have to make the first move.