£25million controversy at Ibrox as Dave King and Rangers twist emerges
Dave King has stated he turned down £25million for his shares in Rangers but further information has cast doubt on the claim made to the Glasgow Herald.
The Johannesburg based businessman has claimed that the club is being undervalued by the current board who have failed to build on the success of the 2021 league title.
The former Ibrox chairman has a significant minority shareholding, 14.22%, in Rangers International Football Club PLC, the holding company of the club.
King recently ended his agreement with Club 1872, which was supposed to entail the fan shareholding body buying his entire stake over an extended period, making it the largest individual owner entity, but the initiative never really got off the ground.
During that arrangement, Club1872 were able to buy shares from King at a discounted rate of 20p per share yet now he is telling everyone that he has turned down 40p per share, £25m for his full holding. Really?
There have been plenty of comments pouring scorn on the claims, including Heart and Hand Podcast, with the remark: “Celtic’s current listing on AIM is £108m. At 25p a share we would be valued at £111m.
“Whoever offered to buy Dave King’s shares at 40p was valuing the club at £180m.
“It seems a remarkable offer to get, be interesting to hear why he turned it down.”
Maverick figure, not shy of confrontation
Quite simply, given the current reckoning in Scottish football and the figures above, King’s claim doesn’t stand up.
Maybe he has actually been offered that amount in which case we should hear soon enough as to why he declined the offer.
The 67-year old is a maverick figure, always outspoken and not shy of confrontation on matters which he has an interest in, especially Rangers.
He remains a critic of the leadership of former chairman Douglas Park so it is no surprise that these comments have materialised just as John Bennett has stepped into the role at Ibrox.
As it stands, King is no longer involved at board level with Rangers but he retains his significant minority shareholding as well as his ability to create headlines from the outside as an influential and controversial figure.
It will be very interesting to see what direction is taken by the Bennett led board in the coming weeks and months, in their leadership of the club on and off the pitch.
This is a new twist and controversy is not exactly new at Ibrox.
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