Rangers break silence on shock 49ers takeover news in ‘confidential’ admission
Rangers have finally broken their silence on news that 49ers Enterprises are in advanced talks over a takeover at Ibrox.
It emerged on Wednesday (19 February) that Paraag Marathe, the 49ers Enterprises president and Leeds United chairman, and other investors are in discussions over becoming the single largest shareholder at Rangers.
49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of NFL outfit San Francisco 49ers, want to snap up enough shares to become the biggest shareholder at Ibrox and subsequently have control over the club.
The Gers, Leeds and San Francisco 49ers have remained coy on the situation so far, but the former have finally reacted to the news in the media.
Rangers talks would remain confidential
Addressing the situation via a spokesperson, Rangers reiterated that their policy is such that they do not comment on ‘speculation’.
The Scottish Premiership giants added that they would keep information ‘confidential’ even if said discussions were ongoing behind the scenes.
“It is not our policy to comment on speculation”, a Light Blues spokesperson said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun (19 February).
“If there were any such discussions, these would remain confidential.”
The Ibrox outfit, therefore, appear determined to remain tight-lipped on the takeover developments until anything is finalised.
That is understandable as there is still a long way to go before a deal is struck even though negotiations are said to be at an advanced stage already.
| Rangers Shareholders | Share (Round) |
| Dave King | 13% |
| Douglas Park | 12% |
| George Taylor | 10% |
| Stuart Gibson | 9.5% |
| John Bennett | 7% |
| Julian Wolhardt | 6.7% |
| John Halsted | 6% |
Ibrox shareholders need to sell up
One of the biggest challenges that the 49ers face in their attempt to buy Rangers is the fact that the club’s shares are split into fragments between multiple shareholders.
Dave King is a majority shareholder at the Glasgow-based club, owning a 13 per cent stake, while the likes of Douglas Park, George Taylor and John Bennett have smaller shares.
That means Marathe and Co would struggle to become the single largest shareholder in Govan as desired if some of the shareholders refuse to sell their shares.
All parties would, therefore, need to be on the same page for the proposed takeover to materialise.
Meanwhile, Rangers would receive a massive cash injection if the deal goes through and they could in turn use it to fund a summer spending spree.