GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 21: (L-R) Former Rangers Board Member George Letham, Rangers Chief Executive Officer Patrick Stewart and Chairman Fraser Thornton during a William Hill Premiership match between Rangers and Dundee at Ibrox Stadium, on December 21, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
The great Ibrox takeover took a strange step backwards last night with a statement issued to Sky Spprts News about ‘productive conversations’ with ‘two lead members of the Consortium, Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises Global Football Group’.
Breaking that down there is a consortium that includes Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises Global Football Group. Presumably the consortium has more than two members and it also has a name.
No one was saying very much last night about acquiring control of the club.
Very strangely there is nothing on the club website about this exciting development, everything has been published by Sky Sports, making a mountain over two sentences that could at best be described as a holding statement.
? EXCLUSIVE: Rangers and the US consortium who are set to take over at Ibrox confirm to Sky Sports News they are in “productive conversations” over a deal and are working on plans to “inject additional capital”. More ??
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) April 23, 2025
On March 3, two days after losing at home to Motherwell Sky Sports News were also used to share good news with Ibrox fans.
At that point the un-named consortium had agreed in principal to buy 51% of the club shares with due diligence underway. As expected that was treated as a formality by the nodding dogs and messengers.
Getting agreement with the six largest shareholders in the club is required to pick up 51%, that would be quite an achievement with the two largest shareholders not on the best of terms.
And still, of course, no-one dares to contact Douglas Park for his views, the Lanarkshire businessman that has sunk an awful lot of money into the club, much more than anyone else in their 13 year history.
Park currently owns 11.54% of the club, has provided an interest paying loan of £11m and agreed a sponsorship deal for the white elephant that is New Edmiston House, the concert and event centre that cost £10m and is used for a handful of supporter events and as a matchday bar.
More than two months after the Daily Record broke the WORLD EXCLUSIVE about transformational change involving multi-million pound investment creating a transfer splurge not a word has been heard from Park.
Any notion of a strict Non Disclosure Agreement was killed off last night by the club providing Sky Sports News with a statement.
On March 3, picking up on the Sky Sports News exclusive, the Glasgow Times reported:
A major update has emerged in the takeover of Rangers.
A deal for the Scottish Premiership giants to be taken over has been agreed in principle with 49ers Enterprises.
The US-based investment firm has been in talks for several months after acquiring a majority shareholding in the club.
The takeover, led by Paraag Marathe, president of the San Francisco 49ers investment strand, appears to be nearing completion.
Sky Sports reports that a period of due diligence will now take place, with legal paperwork being concluded.
Seven weeks on and the due diligence has been watered down to progressive conversations.
Timing is everything, the Season Ticket Renewal campaign is underway at Ibrox, on Saturday afternoon Sky Sports are likely to be providing live coverage of Celtic winning #title55.
There are more twists and turns in this FAKEOVER saga than in a Formula 1 racetrack.
Oh wait a minute. Celtic are on the verge of winning the league. Let’s deflect that with more pish.
All very strange. Mixed messages seemingly?
According to a post about the QnA with Paddy it doesn’t seem anything radical is going on. This is a synopsis of what he and the panel allegedly said.
No current plans for stadium expansion as has to be a Financial case for it. So that seems to have shot down that aspiration.
Re influx of gallacticos to take them all the way to the UCL Final,having left us for dead obviously, it appears transfer activity can be funded using assets on the current squad. Also says FFP won’t be an issue as new investment will supercharge transfer activity???
If new investment doesn’t happen in time then other long term investment would be sought. It was said the takeover is happening and that last comment would be a far off plan b.
So it seems there is still some way to go and that the future picture, if that account is accurate, is far from clear?
Consider if the bank already owns 11.54% of my house, and I also have a secured loan from them for £11,000. If my house is then sold for £55,000, then bank get’s £17,347 – which is 31.5% of the value of the house.
So, for a club valued at £55M, Park effectively controls 31.5%.
It’s that time of the year , f*ck all to play for , distressed hacks watching Celtic closing in on a treble
This is just the start , endless lists of top 10 superstars Rangers could sign etc
There is absolutely NOT endless lists of top 10 superstars that ‘Rangers’ could buy Harold…
Cos ‘Rangers’ are as dead as The Fuckin Dinosaurs !
The forecasts for a US recession is high. Goldman Sachs has the probability at 40% by the end of this year.
J P Morgan says 60%, up from 40% in March. J P Morgan are also forecasting a possible Global recession. Forbes’ recession tracker says 90% for the US. There won’t be a Global recession. It will be a painfull US recession, if any; brought on by Trump’s tariffs, supply chain problems (caused by Trump) and Trump induced uncertianties. The US named, Global Financial Crisis of 2008 was mainly a US Financial crisis, started by factors causing defaults on sub-prime mortgages. Americans think they can’t be stupid. This time, Trump in the stupid American. What will happen when China and Japan call in their Federal US Treasury Bonds, as they mature. I am sure Jerome Powell, Chair of the Fed Reserve, has spoken to Trump’s advisers on the impacts and repercussions of import tariffs on the US economy. Thus a 90 day moratorium on tariffs was decided..
The American Consortium planning to buy into Sevco will have to consider the US recession’s impact on cash flow for their businesses back home in the US. They will have to put a lot of money into Sevco just to get through the first three years and then achieve a decent return on Capital and Management. Last year Jim Radcliffe put USD 300 million of his own money in Man United, otherwise by the end of 2025 the Club was to run out of money. This action increased Jim’s shareholding.
In 2022/2023, only four EPL Clubs reported a pre-tac profit. I wish the Americans good luck. There are some good Clubs in the Premiership . It won’t be a walk in the park for Sevco.
The dollar is also down almost 10% vs sterling since the start of the year, thanks to the Nectarine Nero in the White House, so this deal has just got a shitload more expensive in US$ terms.
Have a look for ” 49ers Enterprises Global Football Group” on companies house…it’s 1 year old, 1/13th of the age of Sevco.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/15757236
it is controlled by the owner of the 49-ers and is based in Leeds.
“05 Jun 2024 Notification of John Edward York as a person with significant control on 3 June 2024”
Registered office address
Elland Road Stadium, Elland Road, Leeds, United Kingdom, LS11 0ES
Nothing to see here, literally
“A period of due diligence will now take place”. Didn’t Jangles Jacko claim weeks ago that due diligence was underway? If they’ve not even started that, then I don’t see how this deal is even remotely “close to completion”.
Basically, from the statement above, this is like saying you’re about to sell your house when all that’s happened is that the for sale sign has gone up and someone has asked to view it. They know how much you want for it and they like the look of it from some basic, “carefully worded” (AKA exaggerated to breaking point) estate agent details and flattering photos. But that’s as far as you’ve got.
Due diligence is the equivalent of them coming in to view the house and then getting a surveyor’s report done, conveyancing searches done, the legal contracts written, land registry and other regulatory bodies notified of the ownership change etc.
You don’t need to be a financial whizzkid to know this. Anyone with any basic journalism skills should know this stuff – or at least be capable of finding someone that does and asking them.
From The ET quote above:
“…The US-based investment firm has been in talks for several months after acquiring a majority shareholding in the club…”
“Majority”: that must be factually incorrect?