Former Rangers chairman Dave King has slammed the outgoing Douglas Park as the South African-based businessman claims the Ibrox share issues undervalue the club.
The outspoken former Ibrox chair hasn’t exactly been shy in talking down the current directorate of the club, with those at the helm overseeing a dramatic domestic downturn in Glasgow.
After managing to get back to the top of the Scottish Premiership, Rangers have surrendered their title to Celtic and now find themselves 12 points behind their rivals.
Dave King lambasts Douglas Park Rangers share issues
Speaking exclusively to the Herald and Chris Jack, Dave King has been lambasting the behaviour of the Rangers board both in falling behind Celtic and with regards the share issues.
The ex-Ibrox chair claims that the most recent share issue – which saw 7.7m shares issues at 25p each – undervalues the price of a Rangers share by about 15p, or 40%.
This comes as Douglas Park stepped down as Rangers chairman only last week, with John Bennett named as his replacement.
“Since 55, the board has squandered the advantage that we worked so hard to achieve – the current 12-point gap between Rangers and Celtic clearly suggests this – and has completely lost sight of the biggest stakeholder group in the club,” said Dave King.
“It is the supporters, not the directors, who should be prioritised. Hopefully, the removal of Douglas will allow the board to put supporters first once again.
“By doing so the board commit to ensuring there will be no repeat of this season.
“Like most supporters and many shareholders, I am demoralised by the continuation of the Douglas Park led board – he was chairman at the time – to look after their personal interests ahead of the club.
“No sooner had the board rejected a fully-funded offer of new shares at 40p than they issued substantial shares to themselves at 25p.
“This is after previously stating that shares would no longer be issued at the low price of 25p. 25p is the price that prevailed before 55, before the Europa League final, and before the re-emergence to Champions League football. It massively undervalues our club and our recent achievements.”
King turned down Rangers offer
Dave King – who is the largest single shareholder at Rangers – also claimed that as Douglas Park and co sell off cheap share he turned down an offer for his shareholding at 40p per share, or around £25m.
Amid much talk of a takeover bid from an American consortium led by Kyle Fox, the former Rangers chairman was also quick to claim that the offer did not come from the businesswoman.
“I recently turned down an unconditional cash offer of 40p from a group other than Kyle Fox’s – so 40p is presently a fair price,” said Dave King.
“25p undervalues the price of the shares by almost 40% and I wonder how the board would react if supporters asked for a 40% discount on next seasons ticket prices as an equivalent?”
