Credit: Imago

Danny Wright

Sat 22 February 2025 7:10, UK

The Scottish FA are set to give their approval for 49ers Enterprises to complete a takeover of Rangers Football Club.

Philippe Clement’s men have been struggling to get anywhere near Celtic in recent years but it seems like the Ibrox giants are about to receive the shot in the arm they might need to re-establish themselves as Scotland’s dominant force.

It’s been widely reportedly that talks between 49ers chief Paraag Marathe and Rangers shareholders are at an advanced stage with the American consortium set to acquire a controlling stake at Ibrox in the coming months.

SFA to hold dual-ownership hearing with Rangers

While it won’t be too long before Rangers have new American owners, they will still need to seek takeover approval from the SFA.

The Sun reported on Thursday (20 February) that before they can green-light the deal, they will need to hold a “dual-ownership exemption hearing”, in which 49ers Enterprises will share their business plan with Scottish football’s governing body.

49ers will need to do this because they’re also majority shareholders of English Championship leaders Leeds United.

The SFA have rules about multi-club ownership but it is understood that they “are expected to give the green light – provided there are no glaring conflicts” with the takeover.

Hibernian and Hearts precedent set for Rangers takeover

The SFA clearly don’t seem to have an issue with multi-club ownership.

Hibernian are currently 29.9 per cent owned by Bill Foley, who also owns Premier League high-flyers Bournemouth.

Brighton owner Tony Bloom is also in talks over buying into Hearts.

Rangers are obviously well ahead of Hibs and Hearts when it comes to financial might in Scotland.

But this could be an absolute game-changer when it comes to challenging Celtic with 49ers Enterprises boasting a net worth in excess of $5billion.