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UPDATE: Murray agrees to sell to Whyte


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http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Whyte39s-Rangers-takeover-on-course.6745011.jp

 

Craig Whyte's proposed purchase of Rangers would now appear to be a formality with an offer to the Stock Exchange imminent.

The suggested completion date is Wednesday or Thursday of this week, not tomorrow as has been suggested

 

Scotland on Sunday understands that all major roadblocks have been removed leaving the way clear for Whyte to buy Sir David Murray's shares, thereby bringing an end to a drama that has been more than five months in the making. Whyte has deposited his proof of funds with the bank and it is believed that he sees no reason why the deal cannot be completed within days.

 

Reports of a possible blip yesterday are believed to be unfounded. It was suggested that terms of Whyte's deal to buy the club may include a commitment on his part to meet any potential HMRC tax debt, a figure that could run into the tens of millions of pounds. This notion is said to be well wide of the mark.

 

The fallout from Alastair Johnston's Friday press conference with broadcasters continues, meanwhile. More than half a dozen journalists have indicated that Johnston lent serious credence to the notion that Rangers could go bust in a worse-case scenario, answering a direct question about the club potentially going out of business if there is no deal with Whyte and a large HMRC bill with a nod of his head. Rangers subsequently issued a statement to the Stock Exchange which read: "We would like to clarify that our chairman did not state that the club could go out of business."

 

It is believed that Johnston was advised by colleagues at Rangers not to do a media conference, but he insisted on speaking to both the daily newspapers and the broadcast press about the club's interim financial results.

 

On he field yesterday, Rangers failed to take advantage of an opportunity to go top of the SPL. With Celtic's game in Inverness postponed, Walter Smith's side would have gone one point ahead of Celtic had they won, but they lost 3-2 to Dundee United at Ibrox.

 

Rangers led twice in the match but couldn't hold off a spirited United side who claimed the winner in the 90th minute courtesy of one-time Rangers signing target, David Goodwillie.

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From the Mail Online.......

 

 

Rangers chairman Murray considers giving up half of his personal pay-out

 

By John Greechan Last updated at 10:20 PM on 3rd April

 

Sir David Murray is considering sacrificing half his personal pay-off from the sale of the club - after standing accused of robbing manager-in-waiting Ally McCoist of much-needed transfer funds.

 

Prospective owner Craig Whyte was left furious after the cost of his takeover was increased by the 11th-hour addition of a �£2.8million tax bill, relating to transfer dealings from over a decade ago.

 

Whyte made it clear that, if he had to cover this unexpected add-on, the money would most likely come straight out of McCoist's transfer fund, with one insider declaring: 'There is only so far the pot of gold will stretch.'

Sacrifice: Sir David Murray may be willing to help Rangers out

 

But last night key figures involved in talks said that Sir David was now considering covering the extra cost out of his �£6million share of the buy-out.

 

Whyte spent Mother's Day with his children and estranged wife, with whom he is still on friendly terms, at the family home - Castle Grant, in Grantown-on-Spey.

 

But he'll be back at the negotiating table today, determined to hammer out the issue of an HMRC demand relating to the free-spending days of Murray bankrolling Dick Advocaat.

 

Even if the takeover goes through, McCoist knows he'll only be working with a fraction of the funds available during an era when �£12m could be blown on signings such as Tore Andre Flo, the Norwegian striker who signed from Chelsea in 2000 and was sold two years later for around half that exorbitant fee.

 

There were serious concerns, though, that Murray's refusal to bend on the issue of the tax bill - unearthed during the final stages of due diligence carried out by the buyers - would undermine the rebuilding project envisaged by Whyte.

 

He has already been pressed for assurances on his willingness to invest �£25m over five seasons, with as much as �£15m up front needed to cover transfers and wages during the coming close season alone.

 

Key figures point out that, despite improved debt figures reducing the overall cost of the deal, Whyte is still being saddled with a squad in need of serious investment - and a stadium requiring up to �£14m in refurbishment.

 

The tax issue, unrelated to a much larger potential HMRC liability which has reportedly been removed from Whyte's future balance sheet altogether, was not described as a deal breaker by anyone involved.

 

But Whyte, who believes he convinced members of the Rangers board that he was the right man to take the club forward at a meeting last week, was determined that the cost of another Murray mistake shouldn't be borne by rookie boss McCoist.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1IUzy7DaB

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To be honest I have no idea how this will pan out but if all this is true and Whyte is getting Murray to face up to the mistakes he made and pay the price for them then we may have a good leader at the helm. I certainly hope so.

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Its all bollocks in the press and the way this deal has gone so far has just gone to prove how much rubbish journos are willing to print. Those who were saying that Whyte was just a Murray stooge and wasn't serious also seem to have change their tune or gone quiet.

 

But amazingly no-one calls any of these so-called professionals to task and they just carry on as if nothing happened.

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Its all bollocks in the press and the way this deal has gone so far has just gone to prove how much rubbish journos are willing to print. Those who were saying that Whyte was just a Murray stooge and wasn't serious also seem to have change their tune or gone quiet.

 

But amazingly no-one calls any of these so-called professionals to task and they just carry on as if nothing happened.

 

To be fair there is just as much bollocks stated on here that is conveniently forgotten when it's proven completely wrong.

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