Liverpool's owner battle won't finish soon -sources

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - The battle between Liverpool FC owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and potential buyer Dubai International Capital (DIC), will go on for a few weeks as DIC isn't prepared to increase its 500 million pound ($998 million) offer, sources familiar with the deal said on Friday.

The situation has fallen into a deadlock as Hicks and Gillett don't want to sell their 50 percent stakes to each other, while the agreement under which they bought the club last year doesn't say what to do in such situation, leaving a legal void on its resolution, the sources said.

The parties want to avoid litigation, the sources said.

Whilst Gillett has said he would sell his stake to DIC, Hicks may be waiting for a better offer.

This may not arrive as the two Americans would already make a considerable profit at the present offer price as they bought the British soccer club for about 230 million pounds last year.

The 500 million pound offer includes 350 million pounds of debt, one of the sources said.

DIC is awaiting the outcome of Hicks' negotiations with U.S. investment bank JPMorgan over a loan to his sports group, as failure to repay may force him to sell some of his assets if there is a buyer, one of the sources said. (Reporting by Elena Moya; Editing by David Holmes)