On June 5 1990, the day after the merger bid was announced by the media, hundreds of fans gathered outside Easter Road demanding to know what on earth was going on.
It would be the first of numerous rallies over the next six weeks in a movement that would be branded Hands Off Hibs and ultimately lead to Mercer withdrawing his bid and the club being saved from almost certain oblivion.
We’ve had a deep dig through the archives at the Evening News that tell the story of that merger and how it threatened to tear a then 115-year-old Edinburgh institution.
5. Angry Hibs fans at Easter Road 1990
Police attended when hundreds of angry Hibs fans turned up at Easter Road football stadium after hearing Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer planned a takeover of their club in June 1990. This led to the Hands off Hibs campaign. | JPIMedia Photo: Alan Ledgerwood
6. Angry Hibs fans at Easter Road 1990
A policeman watches as Shareholders' Association chairman Ewan Stewart addresses the hundreds of angry Hibs fans who turned up at Easter Road football stadium after hearing Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer planned a takeover of their club in June 1990. | JPIMedia Photo: Alan Ledgerwood
7. Angry Hibs fans at Easter Road 1990
Hundreds of angry Hibs fans turned up at Easter Road football stadium after hearing Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer planned a takeover of their club in June 1990. This led to the Hands off Hibs campaign. | JPIMedia Photo: Alan Ledgerwood
8. Lawrie Reilly outside his pub 1990
Lawrie Reilly said the news that Hearts FC chairman Wallace Mercer planned a takeover of Hibernian was 'unbelievable' in June 1990. Reilly, former Hibs player and one of the Famous Five, is pictured outside his bar in Leith. | JPIMedia Photo: Hamish Campbell