Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud is carrying out due diligence with a view to buying into Gillett's 50 percent-share through his sports investment firm F6, according to its director Barry Didato. The prince has been given a period of exclusivity of several months in terms of negotiating with Gillett.

"The prince is looking to buy anywhere from 0 to 100 percent (of Liverpool), but he doesn't need to have a controlling interest," Didato, director of strategic investment at F6, said.

"On Saturday, Prince Faisal signed an exclusivity deal between the groups. We are at the stage of due diligence and taking George's lead. It is moving pretty quickly. At the moment he is only working with George Gillett and I'd certainly think it would have to happen by the end of the end of this year."

Prince Faisal is not in talks with Tom Hicks, who owns the other half of the club. Gillett would not be able to act independently of co-owner Hicks and sell any of his 50 percent stake without the permission of the Texan, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club is not discussing the deal publicly.

Hicks, who was apparently unaware of Gillett's plans to sell his stake, would only be willing to allow 25 percent of the club to be sold. Prince Faisal, along with Didato, was at Anfield on Saturday to see Liverpool thrash Hull 6-1 when the exclusivity deal with Gillett was signed. That agreement will also see the prince and Gillett, who is the majority owner of NASCAR team Richard Petty Motorsports, explore building football academies and rolling out NASCAR in the Middle East.

"F6 is energized about the strategic partnership with his (Gillett's) groups and seeks to lead the way with our investment partners in identifying the brands, personalities, facilities and media that will catalyze the evolution of sporting experiences in the Kingdom and beyond," the prince said of the motorsport aspect of the agreement in a statement Monday.

"I am delighted, enthusiastic, and honored to have the opportunity to partner with such a visionary in His Highness Prince Faisal," Gillett was quoted as saying in the statement. The most significant part of the agreement could see part of

Liverpool, which was bought by Gillett and Hicks in 2007, move into Saudi ownership.

However, Didato cautioned that the prince would be reluctant to invest if his cash was being used to trim the club's 245-million pound ($290 million) debt or if there were lingering splits between Hicks and Gillett.

"Right now George has a lot of ongoing issues with his existing partner and he is working through those with the banks and Premier League," Didato said. "Prince Faisal has said we're keeping a very open door policy to it, but that the existing partnership should not look to him being a solution to Liverpool's balance sheet and there are some balance sheet issues yet to be resolved.

"We want the healthiest of clubs and debt is absolutely an issue. Any investment has to be business centric." Any investment would help fund a new 60,000-seat stadium after building was halted on Anfield's replacement a year ago due to the lack of credit amid the global economic crisis.

Hicks and Gillett began feuding late in 2007 over the potential hiring of Juergen Klinsmann as a replacement for manager Rafa Benitez. The split was exacerbated when Hicks tried to sell his stake early in 2008 to a Dubai group, but Hicks refused to sanction the sale. Hicks maintained earlier this month that the two men were united, but the prince still has concerns, according to Didato.

"His Highness will not get involved in family counseling situations," Didato said by telephone. "But with that he remains very open to bringing in his investment capital, if and when those situations can warrant his investment capital.