American investors are on the brink of taking control at Rangers.
The move by the US group – believed to include a representative of the investment arm of NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers – has been in the pipeline since before Christmas.
A City source in London told Mail Sport last night: ‘This is all but done and dusted. It looks like the Americans have secured at least pledges of a controlling interest in the club.’
English sources said that the bid was being headed by Paraag Marathe, the Leeds United chairman who also leads 49ers Enterprises, the franchise’s investment arm.
The City source said: ‘It appears that general agreement has been made with several leading shareholders.’
Recent figures suggest that shares could have been traded at 20p. This roughly values Rangers at £100million.
Rangers are on brink of takeover by a US group which could breathe new life into club
The Ibrox club have been in turmoil off the pitch and on it under manager Philippe Clement
Rangers could be bankrolled by the money behind NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers
Several Rangers shareholders could be open to offers, John Bennett, who stood down as chairman last year because of ill health, has shown no desire to return to the fray. Dave King is thought to be keen to offload his parcel, and Julian Wolhardt and John Halsted have become peripheral figures.
The intentions of Douglas Park, who holds more than 11 per cent of the club, are not yet known.
However, a source in the USA saidt: ‘This is not just a move by the 49ers. There are other major businessmen involved in this. They are not the type of people to move into a club and retain the board of directors.’
Another source insisted that the only boardroom survivors of any takeover would be Fraser Thornton, the recently appointed chairman, and Patrick Stewart, the chief executive who was appointed late last year.
The source claimed: ‘It makes Patrick’s decision to come to Ibrox easier to understand. If talks were going on in the background it could have influenced his decision.’
The USA move could herald a revolution for a club who announced a pre-tax loss of £17.3m late last year.
Hopes of a massive transfer war chest in the summer may be premature because the club have to adhere to UEFA’s financial fair play regulations, but Marathe and his allies would bring professionalism and sporting experience to a club dogged by costly decisions over the years.
Marathe, who is also vice president of football operations at the 49ers, is guided by analytics in recruitment and it’s thought he would bring a defined strategy to the club. He also has experience in designing and improving stadiums.
Sources suggest that chairman Thornton, left, and CEO Stewart could remain after a takeover
The bid is being headed by Leeds Utd chairman Paraag Marathe who leads 49ers Enterprises
The USA source said: ‘They will look at Rangers as a good investment. These guys believe in themselves and their talent. Two strong elements of Rangers will stand out to them. This is a club with a solid fan base and one that is guaranteed European football every year.’
He said there was a belief that European football is ‘volatile’, with the possibility of cross-border leagues in future. ‘The big clubs are dissatisfied with the status quo and that could open up opportunities for clubs just down the chain,’ he said. ‘It is a good catch for this group and I think they are close to landing it.’
A Rangers spokesperson said: ‘It is not our policy to comment on speculation. If there were any such discussions, those would remain confidential.’
Meanwhile, chief executive Stewart has repeated his backing for Philippe Clement – despite the Belgian presiding over the ‘disastrous’ loss to Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup.
Addressing the defeat for the first time, Stewart claimed it was ‘a source of shame’ for the club.
Reiterating the point he made when he first addressed the media in January, though, he said Clement remained as manager because the club’s problems ran far deeper than one individual.
‘Look, I don’t want anyone to doubt the gravity of the result and how I view the gravity of the result,’ he said.
‘You can’t sugarcoat it. It was disastrous. It’s historically obviously a significant moment.
CEO Stewart said yesterday that Clement will remain boss despite Scottish Cup debacle
Clement has been under serious pressure from fans since team were beaten by Queen’s park
‘It’s the first time we’ve gone out to lower league opposition at home in the Scottish Cup. That’s obviously a source of shame for the club.
‘It’s impacted everyone at the club, let’s be clear.’
Asked why Clement was still in charge, Stewart added: ‘I’m going to go back to what I said in January. We have been underperforming as a club for several seasons now and that’s not down to a manager.
‘We’ve changed the manager and it’s not made a difference. But what I’m doing now is I’m looking at the root causes of that and, until we sort those root causes, it’s akin to trying to fix a broken house and starting with the ceiling instead of starting with the root foundation.
‘So, that’s the first reason. Secondly, for all the Queen’s Park result was disastrous, I think we do also have to give credit to Philippe and the team for the Europa League run.
‘So, they deserve real credit for that. And I don’t want to take a step that would put further progress in the Europa League at risk.
‘That’s another reason why we continue to keep Philippe in his role.’
Stewart again shot down suggestions that the only reason the Belgian was still in charge at Rangers was because the club simply could not afford to sack him.
‘I’ve said consistently now, we are not refusing to make changes because of finances,’ he insisted.
‘So. all I can do is reiterate that, but that’s absolutely not the case. To keep somebody in position to avoid a termination payment, that’s just a false economy.
‘That’s not a way to run a club and that’s not what we’re doing. Decisions have been made for the long-term interest of the football club, not to save money.’
Stewart also revealed that the initial conclusion reached by the ongoing review into the club’s football operation was the need to hire a sporting director to work in tandem with technical director Nils Koppen.
