Bill Ng Deal Done?

[Cotter 0]

Some Daily Record tweeter just said something about a "new bidder" showing his hand for the first time. How ... exciting.

 

The Sheikh! The Sheikh! Long live the Sheikh!!!

[Frankie 8,218]

They're only talking about Kennedy...

[Frankie 8,218]

Sing press following the site:

 

http://www.todayonline.com/Sports/EDC120418-0000059/Singapore-led-consortium-closer-to-takeover-of-Glasgow-Rangers

 

SINGAPORE - In a dramatic turn of events, the Singapore consortium led by Mr Bill Ng, chairman of S-League club Hougang United, have moved into pole position to take over troubled Scottish Premier League giants Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

 

On Monday, it was announced in Scotland that early front-runners, the Blue Knights group, had failed to raise a £500,000 (S$1 million) fee that would have allowed them to enter into exclusive talks with club administrators Duff & Phelps to conclude a deal to take over the 54-time Scottish champions.

 

Last week, co-administrator David Whitehouse had informed the consortium, spearheaded by former Rangers director Paul Murray, that their tentative bid was the strongest of the three submitted and would be named the preferred bidders.

 

The latest development leaves Mr Ng's consortium as the more popular bid compared with American tycoon Bill Miller, who prefers liquidation of Rangers, which went into administration on Feb 14.

 

Duff & Phelps said in a statement yesterday they were hoping to make "an announcement on a preferred bidder later this week".

 

The financial backers of the Blue Knights, Ticketus, have already held discussions with the Singapore consortium. However, Mr Ng yesterday dismissed reports his group had already struck a deal with the British ticketing giants.

 

Speaking to Today over the phone from London, Mr Ng said: "They have spoken to our representatives in the UK but these are all discussions and no agreement has been made.

 

"The apparent withdrawal from the bidding process by the Blue Knights means only that the chances of taking over increases for the two remaining bidders."

 

Ticketus bankrolled Craig Whyte's takeover of Rangers in May last year and while the 40-year-old Scot has failed to turn the financially-strapped club around, the London-based ticketing company remain key players as they are the biggest creditors of the club, to the tune of £26.7 million.

 

Ticketus associate director Oli Winton confirmed they have made contact with Mr Ng's group and he told Today: "No final deal has been struck. We are speaking to all major stakeholders with an interest in Rangers FC, and that does include Bill Ng's consortium."

 

But with Rangers fans and administrators against liquidation of the club, the chips are stacked in favour of the Singapore group becoming the preferred bidder.

 

But Mr Ng is not about to celebrate.

 

"We cannot comment on our chances of taking over Rangers as there are various factors being considered by the administrators," he said.

 

"I do not have the facts of what Mr Bill Miller has proposed. I only know what I can do and what my plans are for the cub, if I am successful.

 

"I believe it is more important for me to stay focused at this point of time and to prepare for our ground work, regardless of the result of the announcement by the administrators."

 

According to a former board member of the Rangers Supporters Trust, Mr Stewart Franklin, who is based in Glasgow, there is a groundswell of support in Scotland for the Singapore group.

 

He revealed that a poll set up by fans favours the Singapore group mainly because there appears to be no debt going forward as they are supposedly wealthy enough to fund all activities.

 

"Many fans will see this as a 99 per cent sale completion to Ng et al, but it is certainly far from a done deal," said the Scot.

 

"Hopefully, this will now give them an opportunity to release more information about their consortium and their plans.

 

"Our support is incredible and if they genuinely recognise that, then they'll be keen to expand upon our involvement for the future."

 

Just to be clear, I didn't say anything about a poll favouring Ng - in fact I suggested TBK were the fans' favourites...

[Frankie 8,218]

Also come postive comment from AJ:

 

CREDIBLE as a businessman. Genuine as a man.

 

Bill Ng is both as far as Alastair Johnston can tell.

 

But is he right for Rangers? The former Ibrox chairman last night told SunSport he’s yet to be convinced.

 

Far East millionaire Ng has emerged as the front-runner to gain control of Gers — believed to be ahead of US-based Bill Miller in the race for preferred bidder status after Paul Murray and his Blue Knights stepped aside.

 

Administrators Duff & Phelps have an obligation to do due diligence on prospective buyers.

 

But Johnston has revealed he’s already made checks of his own.

 

And the man who once urged everyone to watch Craig Whyte like a hawk insists Ng hasn’t yet done enough to assure him Rangers’ future would be safe in his hands.

 

Johnston said: “I’ve done my own checking using my sources in America and Singapore.

 

“I’m quite familiar with the guy and what he’s doing. I just want to make sure in my own mind that his primary purpose is to serve the interests of Rangers Football Club.

 

“He’s obviously got aspirations for a profile, as he’s acknowledged, to help Singapore football. I’m not sure what that actually means, if that’s maybe a conflict with respect to what his priority is and serving Rangers Football Club.

 

“As I understand it, the man is credible, he IS genuine. He has some money and some monied partners.

 

“It’s whether I really think he knows what he’s getting into. Does he understand the expectations of Rangers fans? The jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned.

 

“The money also has to be real and available very quickly. You know, Craig Whyte drained the life-blood out of Rangers. It really needs revived.

 

“It really needs a significant amount of resuscitation. And quickly.

 

“The only opportunity Rangers has is a change of control, that is an event where the expectation of the fans is that there is going to be investment in the club.

 

“If the new owner does not have the ability or the willingness to put money in very quickly that’s going to be a huge disappointment, possibly even a barrier to the continued support of the club.”

 

Ng has yet to reveal his full intention. Very little is known about the Singapore businessman and that’s what worries Johnston. Rangers don’t have time to make another mistake.

 

Johnston, speaking from his home in the States, added: “It’s about transparency. Who is involved? Where is the money? Not only has that money got to be real, it’s got to be defined, it’s got to be available.

 

“It’s got to be known what he’s going to do with it. Then he needs to come out and get the Rangers fans’ support to move forward and do this.

 

“If he doesn’t get that support he’s got a problem. The fans have the tap that turns on the oil or not. I’m talking about season tickets, hospitality and concessions. Everything that they buy is the primary source of income for that club.

 

“The American bid and the Singapore bid need to totally understand that 90 per cent of the revenue for Rangers Football Club going ahead comes from the fans.

 

“Potentially without the TV money, with Rangers perhaps stepping down a division or two, the fans become even more important.

 

“I’m still not sure there is an appreciation of that by the foreign bidders.

 

“I’d like to get more assurance of that before sanctioning them as the ideal choice for Rangers. Whether it’s the Singapore bid or the American bid just get out in front, just be honest about it, be transparent.

 

“The bottom line is we cannot have another Craig Whyte situation.

 

“There is going to be investment involved in saving this club and that means rebuilding for next season.

 

“Unless the Singapore group is prepared to do that — and I’m not sure how they can actually confirm how much they’re going to spend given the variations in the terms of where Rangers are going to sit in the league — it’s very much work in process.”

 

The Ng bid has emerged as the frontrunner after Ticketus opted to work with them rather than Paul Murray and his Blue Knights.

 

Johnston understands why, but is still wary of their role.

 

He added: “Ticketus are looking for the best deal for themselves.

 

“It seems the arrangement they now appear to have with the Singapore group is better than the one they had with the Blue Knights.

 

“Keep in mind that any money that is going to an owner — or to defer Ticketus’ obligation, or mitigate them — is money that’s not going to go into the club.

 

“Ticketus obviously have their own investors they have to look after. To some extent they were embarrassed by the Whyte deal. If the Singapore bid is going to give them a better deal then you can see why they’d take that.

 

“At the end of the day most Rangers fans don’t really care who the new owner is. It’s about how much money is going to go into the club.”

 

The part administrators Duff & Phelps have played in Rangers’ recent history is also open to interpretation with bean-counters Paul Clark and David Whitehouse covering themselves in little glory.

 

Johnston added: “I’ve heard they’ve been naive. I’ve heard they’ve been conflicted. I’ve heard they might be out of their depth. I’ve heard a lot of these things but the jury is still out. Lets see how it ends up.

 

“Certainly I share the concerns about the fact that they have to get their ducks in line a little bit better, and a lot faster than they’ve been doing.”

 

Johnston simply cannot understand how discredited owner Whyte can still have a say in how Rangers emerge from their dire situation.

 

He added: “I think it’s incredible. But when I heard the administrator say that Whyte was irrelevant, I thought that was a very naive statement.”

[chilledbear 16]

There are far too many unknowns.

 

Admins have made a right balls-up of this.

 

The end game is a long way away imo.

[Frankie 8,218]

There are far too many unknowns.

 

Admins have made a right balls-up of this.

 

The end game is a long way away imo.

 

Yep, we're still at least 14 days away from any resolution.

 

Unacceptable given the season ticket money will be needed very soon.

[chilledbear 16]

I cannot see any deals being done as long as Whyte is hanging around.

 

Admin should have been working on this the day they entered Ibrox.

 

HMRC have said they will not negotiate while Whyte is in place, so no CVA.

 

Even if we can make Whyte disappear, there is still the judgement of the Tax Case pending.

 

14 days is very optimistic I would say.

[Frankie 8,218]

Another fair piece from Richard Wilson in the Herald:

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/ng-and-rangers-it-remains-a-curious-affair.17341117

 

Even in Singapore, where there is genuine excitement among football fans that he might become the owner of one of Europe's leading football clubs, there is also curiosity about his choice of Rangers, when the Scottish game is nowhere near as lucrative as the Barclays Premier League. He is not thought, for instance, to have shown an interest in buying any English teams when they have been available for sale, such as Everton, who already have a high profile in the Far East.

 

Ng will, like all investors, have seen an opportunity, in this case the financial plight of the Ibrox side and the chance to buy it in a distressed state, when it is cheaper than its true worth. He claims that he considers his ownership of Rangers as being a long-term project, yet much of his early talk was about how buying the club would help the development of football in Singapore.

 

Although he has owned two local clubs, and claims to have been a Rangers fan since watching television footage of the Ibrox side winning the 1972 European Cup-Winners' Cup final, he once admitted to coming, "into football because I was influenced by the love my two sons have for the sport and I have to admit I'm not a football man. I didn't even know what the offside rule was and my sons had to teach me".

 

His claim to have been a long-time Rangers fan can be dismissed as a fanciful, even cynical attempt to generate favour among the supporters, particularly since the Blue Knights consortium already had the major fan groups on board. The same can be said of his claim that John Greig was his favourite player, and that the directors he installs will all be Rangers-supporting businessmen. He will, ultimately, make decisions based upon his own imperatives, not public opinion.

 

A wealthy man in his own right, but also a member of a rich family, Ng has courted little publicity until now and has stressed his humble nature by claiming that he prefers to drive a modest Japanese car rather than one of the luxury vehicle he owns. His father was leader of a Chinese clan that could trace its history in Singapore back to the early 19th century, while his mother's family established one of the country's leading stockbroking firms. His own background is in banking – he runs Financial Frontiers, a private equity firm – but his personal wealth has only been estimated as £40m.

 

Ng coyly suggested to a local reporter that he is worth more, but he is not working alone. Peter Lim, the billionaire who lost out to Fenway Sports Group in the bidding for Liverpool, has even been moved to deny that he is part of Ng's consortium. So what is the truth? Little is truly known beyond Ng delegating the negotiations to the London office of KPMG, the global accountancy firm. He is also known to have met representatives of the Berjaya Group, the Malaysian company that owns Cardiff City.

 

Ng's involvement in football has been restricted to the short and unsuccessful spell as owner of Tiong Bahru United, whose debt he reduced by installing fruit machines at the stadium, and Sengkang, whose name he changed to Hougang United. The former were unsuccessful during Ng's ownership, but the latter have improved, despite criticism of a lack of investment.

 

Ng has tended to assert his authority. At Hougang, he demanded that the club mascot be changed from a dolphin to a cheetah, while a former manager spoke of receiving phone calls in the middle of the night to discuss tactics, and a fellow chairman recalled Ng's fervour in arguing his club's case with an official of the Singapore FA. Yet his previous involvement in sport had been as a marshal at the Singapore Grand Prix.

 

Ng is known to be a calculating businessman who will not treat any investment lightly, yet all his talk about Rangers has been about chasing European dreams. The reality for the Ibrox club is more mundane – survival.

 

Although his knowledge of local markets would be valuable, it remains impossible to find clarity among the contradictions about Ng.

[chilledbear 16]

I think of them all, I would like to see what Brian Kennedy has to offer.

[caseyjones 0]

I'd suggest that any improvement from Hougang has been limited. As for the fruit machines - we might yet see the opening of the Govan Grand Casino!