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Are you kidding me, you've done nothing but attack and goad me since you came on to this forum.

 

Why don't you just keep your advice to yourself, I'll be sure to let you know if I need any.

 

No, I'm not kidding. I'm making a point about vigilance and to you, pointing out that you used an AJ quote selectively to help paint a positive picture about Mr Sarver.

 

As for the historic, I have often challanged your stance or thinking on various matters but this is a forum where people may disagree. For a change, try looking at it from the POV that you may be wrong and not that everyone is out to get you.

Edited by buster.
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Are you kidding me, you've done nothing but attack and goad me since you came on to this forum.

 

Why don't you just keep your advice to yourself, I'll be sure to let you know if I need any.

Now now bh you should know by now that a bit of goading and outright derision of "certain" posters is perfectly acceptable. Use a bit of industrial language or offend "certain other" posters and you know you are headed for the naughty corner..

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All you need to know about the boardroom battle at Ibrox: Keith Jackson answers the key questions on Robert Sarver, the Three Bears and Mike Ashley

 

Jan 08, 2015 13:16

By Gregor Kyle

 

RECORD SPORT'S Keith Jackson, the man who has been at the heart of the Rangers' story since day one, tells you what you need to know about the latest developments at the crisis-rocked club.

Record Sport understands that Rangers need £6.5m within the next 48 hours

 

RANGERS are again at breaking point, teetering on the brink of a financial precipice and weighing up an offer from American businessmen Robert Sarver that would usher in a new era at Ibrox.

 

The Phoenix Suns owner tabled an offer this morning of a £6.5million loan, to be paid immediately, but riding on a further £20m investment that would hand him control of the club.

 

Statements have been made to the London Stock Exchange and in recent days the Three Bears fan faction has continued to work on their bid behind the scenes while Newcastle United chief Mike Ashley has tightened what was already an iron grip on the Rangers boardroom.

 

How will it play out in the next 48 hours, with the club desperately needing cash to keep the lights on?

 

We ask Record Sport’s Keith Jackson, the one journalist who has been at the heart of the story since day one, the key questions.

 

What is the state of play after today’s Stock Exchange statements?

 

KJ: As it stands just now the board, through its NOMAD, nominated advisor, WH Ireland, are consulting key shareholders to ask them if they would be likely to back this new bid. The most important thing for Rangers right now is that they need immediate cash, otherwise they will be insolvent within days. Within the next 48 hours they need a cash injection of £6.5m. You can never lose sight of that, this is the key figure and the first thing they have to do is get that money in the door. Sarver is offering that, but so too are Park, Letham and Taylor.

 

How do the deals weigh up?

 

KJ: The first priority for the board is to secure this money, however Sarver’s deal is linked into a bigger, £20m proposal to buy new shares. As part of this, his immediate £6.5m loan would be converted into shares within 90 days. The problem is, in order for this proposal to get off the ground, it requires 75 per cent shareholder approval for phase two, the £20m share issue.

 

In other words, the board cannot take the £6.5m loan and work the rest out at a later date. Before they take the money they need to know if they are in the position to deliver on the £20m. If they can’t get the 75% approval from shareholders to issue the new shares to Sarver they cannot take his £6.5m loan.

 

Robert Sarver watches his Phoenix Suns side in an NBA match against Oklahoma City Thunder VIEW GALLERY

 

 

Will they get this approval?

 

KJ: King and Park, who own 35%, are very unlikely to vote with Sarver which means that his proposal is unlikely to get off the ground. The Easdales and his block, who also have 35%, could bring it down as well if they so choose. The proposal, I’d say, has a 90% chance of not getting off the ground. It is a very strange way of going about this - he’s almost shooting to miss. He has made an offer that he knows is riding on conditions that are almost certain not to be met. That leaves the board back at square one: “What do we do? We need this money.”

 

So if they can’t go with Sarver, what do they do?

 

KJ: They also have a funding offer on the table from Park, Letham and Taylor. This is for the immediate figure needed, which we believe to be in the region of £6.5m. Their conditions are that they want seats on the board and then the opportunity to underwrite a later share issue. While Sarver wants conditions met for his larger offer, they are almost saying: ‘take this money now, we’ll deal with the rest later.’ It’s not greatly different, Sarver is just putting all the money up front right away. However, Sarver is not a shareholder - they are.

 

 

 

 

So what is likely to happen next?

 

KJ: My best guess is that the board will announce King/Letham/Park have kyboshed this offer from Sarver, that they can’t get it off the ground because they cannot get the 75% support. That leaves them back at square one - where do we get money from? There is then the other offer on the table - but that’s come from the people who, potentially, have blocked Sarver. The board might then view that group as hostile, because they have blocked Sarver and choose not to deal with them.

 

So where do they get the money from?

 

KJ: That leaves one name: Mike Ashley. Mike Ashley could then become ‘the bank of last resort’.

 

How has his involvement in the club changed with the boardroom manoeuvres in recent days?

 

KJ: It hasn’t. He had boardroom control, what he has done is put in place another director and as Gary Ralston explains in his piece in today’s Record, he might still be able to get another two in place. The bottom line is that Ashley controls this board. What is likely to happen - this afternoon - or tomorrow at the latest - King will call an EGM.

 

 

And how would that play out?

 

KJ: The interesting thing is that before Sarver appeared on the scene the fan faction were quite sure they would get more than 50% on their side at the EGM. That may have changed. Some investors will look at Sarver, with his wealth and business background and say - this is the man for us. They have hung in for three terrible years and seen the share price tank and this could be the man to fix that, rather than the fan faction who do not have his wealth. That could give them a problem at the EGM, there might be some swinging voters now, men who were behind the fan block and who might have given them the numbers they needed at an EGM shoot ‘em up. This just can’t be calculated at the moment - do the fan block still have the support they did before Sarver appeared on the scene?

 

Just how credible the Sarver bid, is this just the latest Bill Miller or Bill Ng?

 

KJ: When Duff and Phelps were in charge, with Whyte and Green circling around, that was a very low level of professionalism and governance. It was only natural that lower level bidders would come in. Ashley is on a different level, a big time operator and Sarver is the American Ashley. He is very credible, he has significant funds behind him but the question is: why has he appeared now at the 11th hour? We’ve seen this happen before, the Blue Knights were almost home and hosed, until another possible investor parachuted in, causing all sorts of chaos. It is a very, very similar situation but that’s not to say that this guy equals Bill Miller, he is far more credible. The other important fact about Sarver is that he wants control, he’s not interested in taking a 30% stake and sitting back - he will not get involved unless he has outright control.

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It was quoted that Mr Sarver has done his due diligence? surely to goodness if he has looked under the the club's bonnet, he would have noticed the engine has been nicked?

 

I will bet 'Due Diligence' at this stage means he has asked around. Surely there is a level of corporate governance that stops any Tom, Dick or Robert saying "I'm interested in taking you over. Let me look at your books please".

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