Whyte offer rejected rumour - denied by Johnston

[ian1964 10,761]

Paul Murray today broke cover to reveal his concerns over Craig Whyte’s proposed takeover of the Ibrox club.

 

Whyte’s prolonged buyout of Sir David Murray’s majority shareholding appears to be in the final stages, with the completion of the deal seemingly imminent.

 

But Rangers director Murray has warned that the deal on the table is not in the best football interests of Rangers.

 

He said: “It is vitally important that every fan understands what could be about to happen to our club.

 

“The wrong move now could lead us down an even more difficult path. The fans have a right to know what is happening and they have a right to judge bids on their merit.

 

“Of course debts have to be paid. But Craig Whyte’s offer is weighted in favour of the bank rather than the club, even though we have a debt level which is more than manageable.

 

“That is not the right thing for Rangers and the fans need to understand why I’m saying that.”

 

Under the Whyte proposal, Rangers’ entire debt to Lloyds Banking Group would be cleared, with between Ã?£5million and Ã?£10million given to Ally McCoist to strengthen his squad for next season.

 

Murray is at the forefront of a Plan B, which would see the debt repaid in stages and Ã?£25million given to McCoist – and the former Deutsche Bank executive insists he had no option but to offer an alternative.

 

“I must stress I am not speaking on behalf of the board of Rangers Football Club,” he said.

 

“But because of media speculation I am anxious to explain my motivation and the timing of my approach to the board.

 

“I am first and foremost a Rangers supporter who only wants what is best for the club.

 

“I am an unpaid non-executive director who would gladly step off the board tomorrow if it was deemed to be in Rangers’ best interests.

 

“Also, I had an open mind on the Craig Whyte transaction.

 

“But when I saw the final structure of the deal in early April, I felt that it was not in the best interests of the club.

 

“I, therefore, believed I had no choice but to table an alternative proposal.”

 

While the Whyte take-over would clear Rangers’ Ã?£18million debt to Lloyds, the Ibrox club could still be left with a massive tax bill if they were to lose their case against HMRC.

 

“In my opinion, Craig Whyte has not adequately demonstrated what his strategy is for managing and funding a negative outcome on this matter,” Murray added.

 

“My proposal would attack these issues in a very different way. The underwritten share issue would raise Ã?£25m and all of the proceeds from this would go into the club.

 

“We would give everyone the opportunity of participating in this issue and encourage a broad ownership structure.

 

“Also, the board would renegotiate a new facility agreement with the Lloyds Banking Group to cover the existing debt which I now believe to be at a manageable level.

 

“Recognising the stated desire of the bank to exit from the football sector, the board would commit to refinancing the debt within a period of 12 months with another bank.

 

“We would be doing this from a position of strength and with a far stronger balance sheet.

 

“But, crucially, and I believe fairly, any liability arising from an adverse tax ruling would rest with the Murray Group/Lloyds Banking Group.

 

“I have been informed that the Murray Group and the bank wish to pursue a transaction with Craig Whyte.

 

“And while I respect their decision to do what they regard to be in their commercial interests my focus is to do what I think is in the club’s interests.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks/paul-murray-warning-over-craig-whyte-plan-1.1099285

[ian1964 10,761]

We need to trust SDM on that one I guess Ian......

 

What I do know is that its difficult to take any sort of other bid or comments by existing Rangers directors seriously just now given they've been present as our club has been run in to the ground over the last while. Some of the comments from Paul Murray today were unbelievable tbh.

 

Agreed,how can we trust any of the existing board while they have been sitting by watching us being run into the ground?.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Didn't see the stuff from Murray.

 

Daily Record this morning.

[Tumshie RFC 0]

This whole thing is a total farce!

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Apparently Whyte is on his way to Glasgow and may not be aware of what has happened (although it seems the decision was taken at the weekend); he should get a shock when he lands.

 

The vasty bulk of the money would have come from loans to an offshore company, so as I have said all along, Rangers would have been no better off, the debt would just have shifted from LBG to person or persons unknown.

 

IF Whyte pulls out, which I expect, LBG will have no alternative other than to negotiate with Paul Murray. It is likely that he will offfer them something up front and the balance over say 5 years rather than 18 years outststanding on the term loan.

 

This would be attractive as a share offer since it could be argued that most of the money raised will go to the team rather than SDM or LBG.

[Bluedell 5,679]

We need to trust SDM on that one I guess Ian......

 

What I do know is that its difficult to take any sort of other bid or comments by existing Rangers directors seriously just now given they've been present as our club has been run in to the ground over the last while. Some of the comments from Paul Murray today were unbelievable tbh.

 

I'd trust the current directors of the club before I'd trust SDM.

[Bluedell 5,679]

Agreed,how can we trust any of the existing board while they have been sitting by watching us being run into the ground?.

 

When one man controls over 90% of the shares, there's little they could do.

[Bluedell 5,679]

Paul Murray should have made his move for club years back if he was serious about helping us rather than sitting back and watching us decline and deplete the squad even more.

 

I can't help but think this is all to do with Ego for some current board members and not about what is best for fans or club.

If Whyte comes in and clears debt they all know they will soon be out of a job.

 

Murray doesn't have the cash himself and probably was not in a position to buy the club years ago.

[ascender 352]

I'd trust the current directors of the club before I'd trust SDM.

 

Well exactly BD. Although I'm not sure I'd trust all of them over SDM given some of the rumours and leaks we've seen. So hard to say with any sort of conviction as its been a real shambles.

 

Would Rangers be better off though if it wasn't LBG we owed the money too in terms of further cuts to the wage bill over the summer?

 

One of the things that worries me about people saying they would make more money available for players is would we end up with an inflated wage bill again and be back in the same situation in a few years time?

[Bluedell 5,679]

The vasty bulk of the money would have come from loans to an offshore company, so as I have said all along, Rangers would have been no better off, the debt would just have shifted from LBG to person or persons unknown.

 

I presume that you mean "from an offshore company"?

 

So you are saying that Whyte never had any intention of clearing the debt, and therefore presumably he was misleading the support?