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UPDATE: Murray agrees to sell to Whyte


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Surprised that nobody has mentioned the fact that it's April fools day.... :sneaky: :devil:

 

And the thread was posted before noon today.................

 

God dam, those tramps from the east end have set us up! :throwpc:

 

I've got a feeling that this could rumble on for longer than 48 hours so I'm getting myself comfy........

 

kingofpopcorn.gif

Edited by Gazza_8
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Guest Dutchy

I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

There seems to be so many little items that come to mind here. First I heard Whyte wanted the deal done by yesterday, that was at the beginning of the week. Now, I'm hearing of it, or at least a decision being made within the next 48 hours. But is that business hours, as this is the weekend and no real business is done at the weekend, can it? So we'd be lucky to hear the result by Tuesday at best, surely.

 

There is also another point brought up by 'involved' journos and other commentators. If Whyte is indeed worth a billion, why is it taking so long to buy a successful football club. Even if by buying Rangers he incurs a loss, why would that be so much as to trouble a so called bilionaire.

 

I've also heard today that Ellis is now no longer part of the bid, but why was he involved in the first palce when his bid was rejected a long time ago.

 

I've no clue what's goiing on, like everyone else, but I smell asset stripping in the air and I don't like all this speculation and what it could mean to Rangers FC.

 

I consider this bank to be a bad servant to our club and we need to get rid of them as soon as possible, but I'd like to know what the alternative stratigies are that Johnson mentions before making Whyte, effectively our bank.:sigh:

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ALASTAIR JOHNSTON'S work may almost be done.

 

He was appointed Rangers chairman with the specific task of finding a buyer for the club.

 

The US-based businessman has been courting lifelong Gers fan Craig Whyte for five months.

 

Now the end of Sir David Murray's 23-year Ibrox tenure could be just HOURS away.

 

Johnston finally broke the boardroom silence on Whyte's �£28million plans yesterday.

 

He revealed Monday will be D-day for the SPL champs and their long term ambitions.

 

And the chairman gave a ringing endorsement of Whyte's credentials for taking charge.

 

Johnston said: "I think he is a businessman who is very bright. I think he has been very strategic, historically, in how successful he has been.

 

"He has done it by keeping his cards very close to his chest.

 

"I could tell his analysis was very enthusiastic but realistic. I would say he is aspirational but realistic.

 

"The validity (of the proposed takeover) will be determined in the next couple of days.

 

"Murray Group had imposed a time limit of March 31. We agreed given certain circumstances there was room for a wee bit of flexibility but only a couple of days.

 

"Monday? It depends if you count Saturday and Sunday as working days but we're talking in that short timescale."

 

Johnston was the most outspoken critic of Andrew Ellis' go-it-alone takeover plan last year.

 

But after a series of top-level talks with Motherwell-born Whyte, the chairman feels much more comfortable with this deal.

 

He added: "The amount of money being spent on due diligence - albeit it went on too long - and his continued commitment of time, effort and money spent to advance discussions have been significant.

 

"His willingness to engage has been very different. It has also been reported to me that there's a lot more security in terms of funds.

 

"When it appeared that this bid had a lot more substance to it, we prepared a briefing for Murray Group with respect to what we thought was the expectation and requirement for a takeover.

 

"We're not a party to the discussion between Murray and Whyte. We have been engineering and focusing on the club.

 

"Once it looked as if Murray, the bank and Craig Whyte were close to a deal and satisfation with respect to the proof of funds etc then we have been active. We are the commodity and while Murray, the bank and Craig Whyte are well represented at the meetings we are representative of hundreds of thousands of fans and stakeholders."

 

Johnston is keen to ensure fans aren't short-changed this summer.

 

He's acutely aware that season-book renewals are being posted out amid grave uncertainty over Gers' future.

 

Figures published yesterday already show a 4.9 per cent decline in season-ticket sales.

 

But Johnston believes Whyte has the wherewithal to put the club's finances back on track and provide cash for players the fans want to see.

 

He said: "I don't think they were taken aback by the scale of the investment needed.

 

"The next move was to have Craig's people meet our people in respect of the cashflow issue and the cashflow plan.

 

"The cashflow relates to the requirements of the club in three different ways.

 

"One is player trading - whether it is transaction fees or wages - the second is investments and requirements for maintenance of our facilities, Ibrox Stadium primarily, and the third is the working capital of the club going forward for our operations.

 

"Without the bank there, somebody has to take that role. There are peaks and valleys in our debt so somebody has to be there replacing the bank.

 

"If the bank isn't there, our cheques still have to clear.

 

"What we talked a lot about yesterday was getting our cashflow right and the timing of that."

 

Johnston also fired a barb at Lloyds Banking Group over their handling of Gers' financial plight. He insisted they've been happy to sit back while Walter Smith has fought tooth and nail to land back-to-back titles.

 

He said: "European football and the success of the last two years has been absolutely instrumental in us surviving the financial model we were forced to confront.

 

"I don't think administration is the right word but, without success, things would just have been scaled back to the point where I don't think Rangers should be. While we appreciate the support of Lloyds, certain provisions imposed on the club continue to compromise the management's ability to conduct its role with maximum efficiency.

 

"The bank look on us as a short-term project.

 

"What we have been doing is engaging them for a while with respect to if we sell players do we have any certainty that we will get all the money, 90 per cent of it, whatever.

 

"It makes it tough for our management to understand and to plan for selling players when we don't know how much of the money we're getting to keep. Then you get a situation where we run down our assets and don't have the opportunity to trade them in a cycle.

 

"Where the bank haven't got it is they haven't quite grasped that a year ago was when we should have been dealing with the Madjid Bougherra situation, not now.

 

"I think the bank has had the luxury of an experience that, much though it's been great for the club for the last couple of years, the more we are successful despite this pressure the more the bank will think we can keep going with this."

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3505341/Craigs-real-deal.html#ixzz1IMqPZycL

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