By Paul Nicholson
June 26 – The messy divorce of English businessman Mike Ashley from his involvement in Scottish giants Rangers now looks to be complete with Ashley having sold his remaining 8.9% shareholding in Rangers International Football Club for £2 million.
The shares have been split between Rangers fan group Club 1872 (who now hold 10.71% of the club) and new private investor Julian Wolhardt.
Rangers chairman Dave King welcomed the Club 1872 purchase and the involvement of Wolhardt.
Of the Club 1872 purchase he said: “This is the partnership I want to see lead Rangers forward. Rangers run by those who care for it most, not what has been dismissively described by some as ‘fans with calculators,’ but a mature and structured organisation which can galvanise and represent our supporters and use their skills and talents to drive our Club back to the top of Scottish and European Football.”
The addition of Wolhardt looks to be strategic and could prove to be a gateway to China for the club through his own financial contacts in particular. Wolhardt is the CEO of Hong Kong-based private equity firm Dehong Capital Partners and has a strong background in China where he has made “a substantial number of investmenst” and where he is listed as a board director of listed companies China Mengniu Dairy, China Modern Dairy, Fujian Sunner Development and COFCO Meat.
The share sales come hard on the heels of the agreement struck between Ashley’s Sports Direct and Rangers over the key re-structuring of the club’s merchandising business that should be worth up to £5 million a year for the club. Replica shirts reportedly sold out within hours of that deal being announced as fans ended their self-imposed boycott of club merchandise.
The mass involvement of Rangers’ fans and their collective ‘will’ has been the catalyst that provided the tools to engineer the recent changes.
A Club 1872 spokesperson said: “We are delighted that our members’ support for Club 1872 has brought us to a point where we can acquire those shares and complete the process of restoring control of RIFC to those who view the footballing success of Rangers FC as being just as important as RIFC’s careful stewardship financially.
“Club 1872 allows Rangers supporters to help safeguard the future of our Club. Taking our shareholding above 10% puts us well on our way to that goal.
“Our next ambition is to reach out to those Rangers supporters who are not already members of Club 1872 and encourage them to join. Together we can achieve great things for our Club.”
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