Miller bid gathers momentum - Telegraph

[ian1964 10,626]

The Scottish Premier League is set to do a deal with Bill Miller â?? the American tow-truck magnate who is favourite to be named as preferred bidder for Rangers when the administrators announce their choice â?? which would go some way towards meeting his demand that the Ibrox club should not start next season with financial penalties, points deductions or the annulment of previous championships.

 

Under proposals to be presented to the SPL clubs on April 30, teams who are insolvent at the start of a season or who hit the financial buffers during a campaign would be deducted 15 points or a third of their previous seasonâ??s total, whichever is the higher.

 

Another suggested change to existing rules proposes that a club admitted to the SPL as a newco should be deducted 10 points for each of its first two seasons in the league.

 

Should Rangers not emerge with a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) by the start of next season they would â?? should the new rules be accepted â?? be deducted at least 22 points, based on their current SPL total of 66.

 

Alternatively, since Millerâ??s proposals involve the sheltering of the healthier sections of Rangersâ?? business inside what he calls an 'incubatorâ?? company, he would require the consent of the SPL and the Scottish Football Association to transfer the clubâ??s share in the two governing bodies.

 

SPL sources have confirmed to The Sunday Telegraph that the league cannot offer any such guarantees, but that â?? consistent with the requirement to consider what is in their best interests â?? are not compelled to reject Millerâ??s business plan.

 

Last night, Paul Clark, one of the co-administrators, told The Sunday Telegraph: â??He [Miller] is speaking to the SFA and SPL.

 

"Some of those discussions we have been involved in, some of them we havenâ??t, and I donâ??t think anyone should read anything into that.

 

"I canâ??t tell you precisely what heâ??s now doing, even though I do know, but heâ??s pretty close to an agreement.

 

â??Heâ??s used words like 'guaranteeâ??. I think 'comfortâ?? would be a better word. One could liken it to parameters of the measures they could take.â?

 

The statement issued on Friday by Miller was uncompromising but Clark said that he did not believe that the American necessarily expected to be granted a complete amnesty from punitive measures. â??The prospect of no measures is, I think, nil â?? itâ??s not going to happen is it?â? said Clark.

 

â??But having the parameters of what those measures look like is what he is seeking. I think they are close to agreement.

 

â??Miller is an experienced businessman and he put out a fairly full and open statement of his position.

 

"I am assuming that even from afar he is doing so for all the right reasons and with the right intentions and his local advisers are certainly busying themselves on this. Heâ??s taking the right steps.â?

 

One question that has puzzled many observers is how Miller can achieve a deal without a partnership with Ticketus, the London-based agency, which has rights over Ibrox season tickets for the next three years.

 

â??I think we need to split his statement at this point into two parts,â? said Clark.

 

â??The first part is making it clear that he would be making an asset sale. The football club would move into a newco entity, of that there should be no doubt.

 

â??The idea is that because of what appears to be wrongdoings that have occurred at Rangers, those wrongs can be righted and then at a later date he would go through a CVA, bringing the old company back to the new company.

 

"Make no mistake, his bid is predicated on there being a new company that owns, runs and operates Rangers Football Club.�

 

On the field, Rangers seemed unburdened by care when they travelled to Tynecastle to meet Scottish Cup finalists Hearts.

 

They took the lead in the 28th minute after Andy Webster had fouled Maurice Edu for a free-kick which Sune Aluko despatched beautifully over the defensive wall.

 

Former Hearts defender Lee Wallace â?? for whom Rangers still owe £800,000 of his transfer fee â?? contributed to his sideâ??s second goal with a cross which Hearts failed to clear, allowing Andrew Little to scoop the ball home.

 

The same combination made it 3-0 to Rangers with two minutes left.

[Shane 0]

He outflanked the Murray/Ticketus joint bid and cornered the SPL. Spin may convince fans, but not administrators.

[ian1964 10,626]

By TOM ENGLISH

Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 00:00

 

 

THE tortured tale of the sale of Rangers took another twist yesterday when Paul Clark, co-administrator at Ibrox, contradicted the supposed front-runner in the bidding process, Bill Miller, on a significant detail of the American’s gameplan.

 

 

In his lengthy statement on Friday, Miller stated unequivocally that he would not proceed unless he got guarantees from the SFA and the SPL that no further punishment would be visited upon Rangers for the sins of past administrations. “My offer is contingent upon the regulatory bodies agreeing that the club will begin the 2012-13 season in the SPL and will do so without any loss of points and with all historic titles intact,” said Miller. “I will not acquire the club unless I receive written assurances from both regulatory bodies to this effect.”

 

Clark has now played down Miller’s demands. “The prospect of it being no [punishment] measures is I think nil, it’s not going to happen is it?” he stated. “But having the parameters of what those measures look like is what he is seeking. I think they are close to agreement.”

 

Written assurances, says Miller. Parameters, says Clark. The confusion is typical of this vexed business. “What he has actually been doing is speaking to the SFA and SPL,” Clark added. “Some of those discussions we have been involved in, some of them we haven’t. I can’t tell you precisely what he’s now doing, even though I do know, but he’s pretty close to getting [an agreement with the football authorities]. He’s used words like guarantee, I think ‘comfort’ would be a better word. One could liken it to parameters of the measures they could take. I think they are very close if they are not already at that position. They are very close with discussions.”

 

The detail of any guarantees or comforts will be fascinating to hear. The SFA and the SPL will know that the eyes of Scottish football are upon them now. Clark sought to clarify some of the detail of Miller’s bid, confirming that Rangers are now staring down the barrel of a new company/incubator/liquidation and that there is in all probability a three-year ban from European competition imminent should Miller’s bid be accepted. There is, though, a long way to go before that happens.

 

“I think we need to split his [Miller’s] statement at this point into two parts,” said Clark. “The first part he is making it clear he would be making an asset sale. The football club would move into a newco entity, of that there should be no doubt.

 

“There would be a newco that would continue to run the football club. The idea then would be, because of what appears to be wrongdoing that has occurred within Rangers, those wrongs can be righted and then at a later date he would go through a CVA bringing the old company back to the new company. Make no mistake, his bid is predicated on there being a new company that owns, runs and operates Rangers football club.”

 

From a Rangers fans perspective, this is the doomsday scenario. A newco is precisely what they are fighting to avoid.

 

“[On Europe], that’s a discussion, but I think that [a three-year ban] would have to be the starting point assumption. I think that’s a different discussion with SFA and UEFA. I certainly haven’t been involved in a discussion with Miller that would lessen that three years.”

 

In all of this, it is still hard to avoid the possibility – or perhaps, probability – that Duff & Phelps are holding out for the re-emergence of the Blue Knights, possibly with Brian Kennedy in tow. It is believed that the Knights and Kennedy are now exploring things together and may come back into the picture having left it abruptly last week. Clark spoke to Kennedy on Friday. “It’s fair to say they are still around. I had discussions with Paul Murray and various others on Friday and some of those discussions went into the evening. I have made it clear that I am ready, willing and able to speak on the weekend. Certainly, if they still have a desire to move forward, we have made it clear they have to do that now and with no more delay. We are happy to work with them to put them back in place, if that’s what they choose.

 

“Until nine or ten days ago, we had put the Blue Knights consortium in pole position. We hadn’t accepted them as preferred bidder but we had pretty much told them that was their position. Then within 24 hours of us having that conversation with them…

 

“The withdrawal of the financial commitment was by Ticketus rather than the Blue Knights. They withdrew their financial commitment to pay the exclusivity fee and that was a real setback, it was a real move from their position because we had made it clear we needed that financial commitment.”

 

The financial wherewithal of the Knights is still an unknown, even this late in the process. Question marks remain as to how much cash they actually have and is it anywhere close to being enough. They are now beyond the point of cheap statements of intent and need to deliver something of substance.

 

Clark also had something to say about their on-off business partners, Ticketus, and the challenge of separating Craig Whyte from his shareholding in the club.

 

“Ticketus have always told us they have the ability to get Craig Whyte’s shares. They said ‘You don’t need to do anything with Duff & Phelps, we’ll deal with it’. There are other bids, in the first instance the Miller bid, that don’t need the Craig Whyte shares because it’s an asset deal. There are also opportunities as Miller has alluded where a type of structure could be put in place where the obtaining of the shares is not essential. It’s fair to say Ticketus have been robust on the position of the Craig Whyte shares.”

[Shane 0]

What were the odds of us falling afoul of the UEFA fair play laws anyway, regardless of the winning bid? Anyone have some input on this? I've gotten a no comment on UEFA so far.

Edited April 22, 2012 by Shane

[der Berliner 3,568]

We and host of minor clubs will probably fall foul here, including Timothy with their 20m debt in the bad of their two companies. But rest assured, the big guns in Europe with 100s of million in the red will go unscathed. (Milan, for examply, posted a 90m loss in 2011, as German teletext reported yesterday.)

[Shane 0]

Or the two Spanish giants with a bigger credit facility than most small nations.

[Guest wolfman]

Or the two Spanish giants with a bigger credit facility than most small nations.

the financial difficulty,s being suffered by the spanish nation could have severe ramifications for spanish football.

[Shane 0]

the financial difficulty,s being suffered by the spanish nation could have severe ramifications for spanish football.

 

Wouldn't shock me a second to see people in bread lines while Madrid announces their next 60m euro signing. The rich need their entertainment.

[forlanssister 3,092]

He outflanked the Murray/Ticketus joint bid and cornered the SPL. Spin may convince fans, but not administrators.

 

I'm hearing that Jon Pritchett of Club9 and Tobacco Road Capitalists is despite previous denials very much still involved with the Miller "consortium" as is our very own Andrew Ellis.

 

You hearing any of that in your neck of the woods Shane?

[Shane 0]

I'm hearing that Jon Pritchett of Club9 and Tobacco Road Capitalists is despite previous denials very much still involved with the Miller "consortium" as is our very own Andrew Ellis.

 

You hearing any of that in your neck of the woods Shane?

 

Sorry there, forlan. Just to confirm my statement over on RM, I got cut off for asking a couple too many questions earlier this week. Gotta go with your word on this news at this point, mate.