The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
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DAVE KING is on his way back to SouthAfrica after failing to strike a rescue deal for Rangers.
The former oldco director j etted i nto Scotland last week hoping to plough £16 million into the crisis-hit club.
In return for that investment, King and his partners — former Blue Knight Paul Murray and wealthy supporter George Letham — wanted a 51% stake in the club.
The Castlemilk-born millionaire held talks with members of the Light Blues board but admitted his frustrations that he was unable to convince the “power behind the throne” to hand his consortium control.
The 59-yearold also had a telephone conversation with football board chairman Sandy Easdale, who controls around 26% of the club’s shares, but said he was snubbed by Newcastle United owner MikeAshley.
Ashley recently took his stake in the Ibrox outfit to just under 9% and has upped his bid for increased influence with the Glasgow giants by calling an e m e r ge n c y ge n e r a l meeting to remove chief executive GrahamWallace and Philip Nash from the club’s board.
But King questioned the motives of those pulling the strings in the Ibrox background.
He told Sky Sports News: “I believe I have made a compelling case for investment and for taking the club forward.
“I cannot see how a board, acting in good faith, can fail to recommend it to shareholders given the current plight of the club. “Let the shareholders decide.”
King would have required the support of three quarters of the club’s shareholders in order to push through his rescue plan for a club that is due to run out of cash by the end of the year.
But with Easdale in command of 26% and determined to hold on to power, the chances of a deal were always slim.
In a further statement, King, who lost £20m when the League One champions were liquidated in 2012, added:“Over the last few we e k s Paul Murray, George Letham and myself have constructively engaged the Rangers board and (at the request of the board) Sandy Easdale regarding our proposal to i nv e s t £16 million into the club as soon as is practically possible.
“When investing in any public company there are numerous regulatory and compliance requirements that have to be dealt with.
“There are also SFA compliance issues that arise when investing in a football club in Scotland.
“An obvious further complication in Rangers’ case is the seeming lack of authority of the Rangers board to make decisions without reference to key shareholders who appear to be‘the power behind the throne’.
“Prior to commencing the implementation issues referred to above it is necessary to reach an in-principle agreement with the board that can then be put to shareholders.”