Rangers have ‘agreed the outline of a deal’ which will see a consortium led by 49ers Enterprises and US healthcare mogul Andrew Cavanagh takeover the club.
News broke last week that Rangers are closing in on a US takeover with the investment wing of NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers key players in the negotiations.
The Rangers takeover had been complicated by the fact around seven major shareholders own between 6% and 13% of the shareholding.
But after Dave King went public with Rangers’ plans to sell-up, news is breaking in the Athletic that a deal has now been agreed.
Rangers agree terms on US takeover
According to the Athletic, Rangers have been in negotiations with the 49ers Enterprises chief and Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe for the last three months.
It’s claimed that 49ers Enterprises have been looking for more football clubs to add to their multi-club stable with Leeds United their flagship enterprise and the Elland Road club on the verge of Premier League promotion.
49ers Enterprises were recently valued at close to $6bn (£4.75bn) and have famous backers from the world of sports and entertainment, the 49ers the 11th wealthiest multi-sport owner group on the planet.
Andrew Cavanagh, a Philadelphia-based healthcare mogul whose ParetoHealth firm resides over an $8bn (£6.33bn) empire, is also a key player.
It’s being claimed that 51% of the Rangers shareholding has been identified with the long-standing Ibrox board members ready to sell.
Dave King (13%) intimated his desire to sell his Rangers shares a long time ago with John Bennett (7%) and Barry Scott (1.5%) joining him.
The other 30% or so will be made up from the pre-existing Rangers shareholders – Douglas Park (11.54%), George Taylor (10.22%), Stuart Gibson (9.53%), Julian Wolhardt (6.69%) and John Halsted (6%) – selling sizeable chunks of their interest.
George Letham, who owns around 5%, has also been named as being ‘influential’ in the discussions.
There will now be a period of ‘due diligence’ with regards the takeover before it is completed, with earlier reports suggesting the deal could be done as early as April.
New dawn rises at Rangers Football Club
A new dawn is certainly about to rise at Rangers with Andrew Cavanagh and 49ers Enterprises set to transform the Ibrox club.
Rangers are something of a sleeping giant that has often stirred rather really awoken in recent seasons.
With a loyal fanbase and a unique, stirring atmosphere at one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, Rangers have the foundations for success if they can get it right at every other level of the club.
Recent investment in Auchenhowie and Ibrox has begun to bring the stadium up to a modern level, whilst New Edmiston House is a multi-purpose facility recently built by the club.
With only one real competitor in Scottish football, if Rangers can get closer to Celtic then that avenue to Champions League revenue is more readily available.
Rangers, for the first time in a decade, are also free of the retail litigation which so hamstrung the club’s progress in commercial and retail revenue.
With American investment widespread in Scottish football, not just British football, a big opportunity awaits the US consortium who have their eyes on Rangers.
For a support who’ve grown accustomed to false dawns in recent seasons, could the sun finally be about to rise over Ibrox?
