By David Gold
May 6 – Craig Whyte (pictured) has completed his takeover of Glasgow Rangers after paying £1 ($1.63) for Sir David Murray’s stake in the Ibrox club.
Whyte now owns 85 per cent of Rangers’ shares following a protracted takeover, which involved seven months of talks.
But the Independent Board Committee of The Rangers Football Club (IBC) expressed concern over Whyte’s plans for the club in a statement.
“Although the IBC has no power to block the transaction, following its inquiries, the IBC and Wavetower have differing views on the future revenue generation and cash requirements of the club and the IBC is concerned about a lack of clarity on how future cash requirements would be met, particularly any liability arising from the outstanding HMRC case,” it read.
“The IBC has insisted that the acquirer [Whyte] issues a document to all shareholders setting out the full terms of the transaction, comprehensive details on the acquirer and the sources of its funding and giving firm commitments to agreed future investment in the club.”
Whyte is clearing £17 million ($28 million) of debt owed to Lloyds, and he will also make £10 million ($16 million) of working capital available in the club’s account, after initially indicating that £5 million ($8 million) would be given for bringing in new players.
There will be more changes to come at the club in the coming weeks as club chairman Alastair Johnson steps down, with manager Walter Smith also set to leave Ibrox.
Ally McCoist, Smith’s assistant, will take the reins of the Scottish giants next season.
The news marks the end of a turbulent spell for the club after a period of financial difficulty, and it brings to a conclusion Murray’s 23-year reign as owner of Rangers.
During Murray’s time at the club they equalled a Scottish Premier League record of nine successive title wins, and they also reached the Europa League final in 2008.
Whyte praised Murray and said that “as a keen Rangers supporter I now look forward to helping the club secure its future as a leading force in Scottish and European football.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734798103labto1734798103ofdlr1734798103owedi1734798103sni@d1734798103log.d1734798103ivad1734798103
Related stories
April 2011: Talks cause fresh delay for Rangers takeover