KING MAY TAKE IBROX THRONE
Talks could see return of former director as chairman
RA NGERS chief executive Craig Mather is talking to Dave King over a major cash injection which could see the former director return as Ibrox chairman in time for the forthcoming annual general meeting.
King previously lost £20million when t he club plunged i nto administration in February 2012 but, as the Rangers board attempt to see off a shareholder revolution following losses of £ 14.4m, the Glasgow-born businessman has offered an immediate cash injection.
Mather and Rangers f i nance director Brian Stockbridge met the 57-year- old in Johannesburg and are now trying to sell King’s vision to investors and shareholders.
If they are successful, King could be in Glasgow as the new saviour of Rangers by the time the AGM is held on October 24.
Here, Sportsmail answers the key questions surrounding the future of Rangers ... WHY DID CRAIG MATHER AND BRIAN STOCKBRIDGE
GO TO SOUTH AFRICA? The Rangers board of directors are fighting for their lives. Battered by losses of £14.4m in the annual results and with questions being raised over the fate of the £22m share issue cash, they face an awkward and messy AGM later this month.
Unhappy investors, led by Jim McColl and Paul Murray, will try to displace Mather, finance director Stockbridge and non- executive director Bryan Smart and put four of their own men — i ncluding former chairman Malcolm Murray — onto the board instead.
Rangers directors oppose this but accept they need fresh finance and a Plan B. King has already warned that the club will run out of money soon and, keen to help avoid that situation, he spoke to Mather by telephone and the men agreed to meet.
King made a proposal to put fresh finance into Rangers — with certain conditions.
He wants a full look at the club’s finances before making any sort of commitment, he wants guarantees on how the money will be spent, he wants a detailed, long-term business plan and he wants a proper corporate governance structure put in place.
In return, he will finance the club’s return to the SPFL and a future challenge to Celtic — and end the growing groundswell of supporter unrest at the club.
A committed, lifelong Rangers supporter, King previously lost £20m supporting the club under David Murray’s reign.
To avoid that happening again, he will want a full say in how the club is run.
In return for shoring up the club’s finances in the short-term to take the heat off the board, he is likely to fill the chairman’s seat vacated by Walter Smith in August.
He would remain in South Africa on a day-to-day basis, but dictate the club’s f i scal policies and underwrite the issue of new shares at a later date, provided the money went straight into the club. WILL EVERYONE AT RANGERS
ACCEPT THIS? Not necessarily. King wants new shares issued to raise cash. But if that happens, then existing shareholders such as James and Sandy Easdale could see their holdings and influence diluted and diminished.
Mather and Stockbridge are believed to be positive about King’s proposals, but have to sell the idea to the Easdales and a complex network of club i nvestors and shareholders in the coming days and weeks i n order f or t he proposals to be pushed through.
There are no guarantees they will secure the backing needed to get the results they want. WHAT TIMESCALE ARE THEY
WORKING TO? The phone lines between Glasgow and South Africa are currently buzzing and i f agreement is reached, then King could be back in the Rangers boardroom before the AGM. THE AGM IS JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY. COULD IT HAPPEN THAT
QUICKLY? If there is agreement reached, then yes.
For Mather and King, that would be the ideal scenario. The directors fighting for their jobs need a ‘big announcement’.
King has the backing of Rangers supporters and his arrival in Glasgow in two weeks’ time with a chequebook in his pocket would allow supporters to look forward to a brighter, more positive future.
It would also steal the thunder of McColl and messrs Murray, Paul and Malcolm, ending any talk of existing directors being turfed off the board. WOULD KING’S RETURN BE GOOD NEWS FOR ALLY
McCOIST? It would be excellent news. Publicly and privately, the Rangers manager has been fulsome in his
praise of King and his Rangers background.
McCoist respects the businessman’s views and his past as a major investor in the club — and accepts that, in many of his predictions, King has been consistently right.
He also knows any new cash would be used to buy players for an i nevitable return to the SPFL Premiership sooner rather than l ater. Right now there are no guarantees of that. BUT WOULD KING PASS ‘FIT AND PROPER PERSON’
REGULATIONS? King met SFA chief executive Stewart Regan in Glasgow and was warned that, so l ong as fraud charges hung over his head in South Africa, he would be required to provide l egal proof of his innocence.
In August, however, King reached a £45m settlement agreement with the South African tax authorities which saw the f raud charges dropped.
He did plead guilty to 41 charges of contravening the Income Tax Act after failing to make successive tax return disclosures on time, but argues that none of this is serious enough to prevent him from buying Rangers.
The AIM stock market could still raise questions over his suitability — but King continues to believe he is free to invest in Rangers if he so chooses.