Leggo: Dave King about to make £10million bid

[Frankie 8,843]

http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/dave-king-may-be-poised-for-10million.html

 

THE right to run Rangers is up for grabs for a cool £10M.

 

That is how much it would cost anyone to sweep up around between 25per cent and 28per cent of the Ibrox shareholding, giving someone willing to shell out that sort of money effect control of Rangers.

 

And if the jungle drums and the grapevine are both correct, the man who is ready to make his move is former Rangers director Dave King. A Rangers man who would surely meet with the approval of the overwhelming majority of Rangers fans.

 

For King is a real Rangers man. A dyed-in-the-wool bluenose who once poured £20M into the club and got no more than a seat on the David Murray board at a time when Murray held the club in the vice like grip of his 85per cent shareholding.

 

In the end King lost his £20M. All of it.

 

However, he is wealthy enough and committed enough to the Rangers cause to shell out big bucks again. But this time he wonâ??t cough up unless he knows his stake in the club will give him effective control.

 

King was unable to step in and save Rangers from liquidation by buying them out of administration last summer because he was still involved in a running battle with the South African tax authorities.

 

But that is over now and all his assets outside of South Africa, previously frozen, have been unfrozen and are available to him. In the last week King has been active and has been in contact with a number of people in and around the Blue Room in what looks like him getting all of his ducks in a row ahead of a £10M power grab.

 

But it is always hard to know just which way Dave King will jump. And when! And it is that unpredictability which has made him such a successful businessman.

 

Former chairman Alastair Johnston once described King as a force of nature and AJ would be delighted to see his old Blue Room pal and colleague strike like a tornado and blow back into Ibrox, this time with real power to shape the clubâ??s comeback and its long term future.

 

King is in a position to be able to snap up large chunks of shares from people who got them originally at a knockdown price. They would still make a substantial profit, but King would gain control for a decent outlay.

 

It has been thought that Charles Green, the former chief executive who departs the board in just over a fortnight and who owns five million shares which gives him a 7.68per cent stake, would be selling to the controversial Easdale brothers and they have said that if they buy they will demand a seat on the board.

 

That, though, may just have been a ploy in order to keep the share price from sliding any further than it has already.

 

Sandy and James Easdale also appeared to have blundered badly last week when they gave a cosy interview with the banned BBC Scotlandâ??s senior football reporter Chris McLaughlin, just days after McLaughlin had been booted out of Ibrox.

 

As the bus tycoon brothers chummily called BBC Scotland man McLaughlin by his first name, they lost their fight for the heart and soul of Rangers supporters.

 

Those fans had originally been wary of the Easdale brothers, given the VAT fraud history of one of them, but may have been persuaded and won over.

 

However, by being pals on screen with hate figure Chris McLaughin from BBC Scotland, the Easdales threw away any chance of success on that front. And as the Easdales are shrewd operators, speaking to such an Ibrox fansâ?? and actual club hate figure as McLaughlin, further fuelled the belief that any claim by them that they are going to buy Charles Greenâ??s shares is part of a ploy to stop the share price falling further.

[chilledbear 16]

If he wants full control, would the bid involve A N OTHER?

[bluebear54 0]

How much is founded on speculation and how much is it likely? Although it won't please everyone, I think just now we desperately need strong ownership to the next five or so years.

So I'd like to see DK succeed.

[Zappa 0]

I changed my mind about King a good while back since learning about the corrupt SARS officials and King's the one I've wanted to get the club since we went into administration just over a year ago.

 

Having said that... I'll be restraining myself until it's a done deal because this could be a long summer if guys like Leggo are starting feeding the rumour mill already when it's only the middle of May.

[Stimpy 0]

Are Leggo's blogs still emailed out every morning? Haven't had read any of his stuff in weeks. usually falls into my inbox but nothing has came.

[Zappa 0]

Are Leggo's blogs still emailed out every morning? Haven't had read any of his stuff in weeks. usually falls into my inbox but nothing has came.

 

Not sure, but I get enough rubbish in my inbox already!

[ian1964 10,831]

Of course Leggat could just be spouting pish again!

[chilledbear 16]

Of course Leggat could just be spouting pish again!

 

Or jumped the gun !!!

 

Would King have wanted this??

[Frankie 8,843]

As I've written a few times lately, King is definitely interested but I'm not sure if he's working alone or with others.

 

I'd like to think he appreciates that many fans don't want a return of the old guard (such as Paul Murray or Bain) but would like to see a refreshed approach.

 

As for other bidders, clearly it seems that the key to a controlling interested is being able to deal with institutional investors who are ready to sell. It may well be that King is further along the road in that sense but others (such as the Easdales) will have a part to play as well.

[Frankie 8,843]

Or jumped the gun !!!

 

Would King have wanted this??

 

A valid question but I'd be surprised if Leggo hadn't had the nod to go with this story given he's been running interference on his behalf recently.