Dave King Bid Not Dead

[Frankie 8,562]

According to the Herald:

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/rangers-fans-up-in-arms-as-ashley-loans-club-1m-more.25855834

 

 

 

RANGERS fans have expressed disgust over a move for the cash-strapped club to borrow a further £1 million of emergency funding from Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, just 30 days after providing a £2m bailout.

 

The club holding company Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) plc has warned that even more working *capital funding will be required before the end of the year, blaming lower-than-expected match attendances.

 

Rangers have seen a 32 per cent drop in average home attendances from last season, from 38,734 to 26,320. Chris Graham of the Union of Fans supporters group coalition said of the latest development: "It is incompetence and mismanagement, everything you can imagine, all rolled into one."

 

The further £1m comes on top of an initial £2m six-month *interest free loan to the club that was secured against two of its assets - Edmiston House and Albion car park.

 

The Newcastle United owner has an 8.9 per cent stake in the plc but has a grip on the club as a result of an alliance with two leading factions - operating company subsidiary chairman Sandy Easdale, who holds voting rights over 26.8 per cent, and Isle Of Man-based hedge fund Laxey Partners, which controls 16.3 per cent.

 

The latest developments came as former Rangers director Dave King said his seemingly doomed £16m takeover bid was not dead but added it would be "counter productive" to elaborate further.

 

RIFC appeared to answer fan complaints made to the stock market that Mr Ashley's power grab may have broken rules over stakeholder consultation by saying they had discussed the finance proposals with "major shareholders holding a majority of the voting rights in the company".

 

It was further announced that Mr Ashley had given up the naming rights to Ibrox, which he bought for £1 while the club set up a "more normalised retail joint venture marketing arrangement" with Sports Direct. RIFC were unable to explain what that meant.

 

Executive chairman David Somers said in a statement: "This agreement has been concluded to demonstrate the importance both parties place on our relationship. The Rangers board welcomes this visible demonstration of the Sports Direct support and long-term commitment to Rangers."

 

Mr Ashley has for two years had effective control of all financial matters at the club's Rangers Retail operation, which runs the three Rangers Megastores, and holds the rights to the club's name and famous crests.

 

Mr Graham said there needed to be proper transparency over boardroom dealings and the club direction, describing parts of the latest plc statement as "corporate babble". He also criticised the insinuation that Rangers' financial position was the fans' fault.

 

"I don't know the definition of insolvency, but it is not a million miles away," he said. "There is no commitment of investment into the club by Mike Ashley yet, we have turned down £16m and gone down a route of saddling the club with short-term debt to pay the wages. How this can be justified is just obviously ridiculous."

 

Mr Ashley's grip on the club was reinforced as two boardroom opponents, finance director Phillip Nash and chief executive Graham Wallace, left as the initial loan to the Sports Direct tycoon was agreed. The loan also gave Mr Ashley the right to two appointed directors on The Rangers Football Club Ltd operating company and the appointment of Sports Direct executive Barry Leach and former Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias as "consultants", with the latter subsequently named a director of the plc.

 

He is prevented from owning more than 10 per cent of RIFC after signing a pact with the Scottish Football Association.

 

That's me sold..

[chilledbear 16]

Not sure I can take much more of this.

[RANGERRAB 3,667]

DK's spokesman Chris Graham giving his usual quotes I see.

DK needs to acquire shares if he wishes any credibility.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

It's still a great deal for rangers and we don't know if Ashley intends to or can invest the sums we require.

 

He may well tie up his onerous contracts tight then leave the husk to rangers men to do CPR on.

[colinstein 294]

It's still a great deal for rangers and we don't know if Ashley intends to or can invest the sums we require.

 

He may well tie up his onerous contracts tight then leave the husk to rangers men to do CPR on.

 

that's what I fear.

Dave King said on the radio Ashley's loan was not the end of his bid at the time.....so there's nothing new there

[Zappa 0]

He's just keeping his powder dry!

[compo 7,041]

king knows as do we the only way to get rangers is buy the buggers out

[der Berliner 3,744]

Dunno, but I never thought it was actually dead. He wanted to invest in the club and wanted fresh shares in return (methinks essentially even for his 16m or part of it). I do assume that there will be a issue of new shares agreed upon at the AGM and King can get his fingers in still.

[Frankie 8,562]

Dunno, but I never thought it was actually dead. He wanted to invest in the club and wanted fresh shares in return (methinks essentially even for his 16m). I do assume that there will be a issue of new shares agreed upon at the AGM and King can get his fingers in still.

 

Not if they're only available to existing shareholders.

[der Berliner 3,744]

Not if they're only available to existing shareholders.

 

Unless I am mistaken, the board was not allowed to issue new shares, as the last AGM said no. Hence they only had the option to "sell" these 43m shares to exisiting shareholders. Only the AGM can agree on the issue of new/fresh shares (as I intimated above) and it will probably only then that King invests ... unless he's bought the odd share by now and changes his tactics.

 

BTW, all my uneducated opinion.