Rangers takeover bid: speed versus substance?
If it all works then great. If it can be done in the time-frame then fabulous and if…if… Nobody wants to be unduly negative – but it’s only a little bit over a week ago that similar claims about substantial commitments to Rangers were being made by their administrators Duff and Phelps about the US offer from Bill Miller.
Across Glasgow there will now be all the hysterical talk of a “saviour” and it being all over. It is, just possibly true but the history of disastrous Rangers takeovers and recent near-pantomimical performances from Duff and Phelps mean caution’s the only response.
For a start the Company Voluntary Arrangement needs to be put in place and it is by no means certain as even Duff and Phelps make very clear: “If the creditors do not approve the Company Voluntary Arrangement, the agreement obliges Charles Green’s purchasing vehicle to acquire the business and assets of the Club on agreed terms, through a newco structure. It is Mr Green’s strong preference to achieve a CVA.”
And a Newco – new company structure – means a three year ban from European football under UEFA rules, instead of the one year Rangers currently faces.
Charles Green himself recognises a CVA is not in the bag: “We will do everything in our power to achieve a CVA and we already have a detailed written commitment from Mr Craig Whyte for the transfer of his shareholding.”
Craig Whyte has told Channel 4 News he wants to avoid a Newco at all costs but the normal timetable he said, for a CVA to be set up is six to eight weeks. Duff and Phelps have previously agreed that this is the timescale and so did HMRC when I checked with them.
Craig Whyte says much of the process can be speeded up once a firm commitment is in place – but would you take advice on football business from a man banned from Scottish football for life for catastrophic maladministration?
Channel 4 News uncovers the web of connections showing a club in crisis
The desperation of the Administrators to get Rangers off their hands horribly echoes Sir David Murray’s desire to flog Ibrox to Craig Whyte against all the warning signs.
The focus on speed here is understandable, but it is exactly what got Rangers further into the financial disaster they’ve become.
So what of Mr Charles Green? What do we know? Where’s the proper time in all of this breakneck speed for due diligence?
We’ve been led up a lot of garden paths in recent weeks and this is no different at all. What today’s announcement means in plain English is that they’ve found someone who is willing to have a crack at refinancing Rangers short of a new company and he might, just, possibly pull it off but nobody should get remotely excited for at least a couple of weeks.
During which time – who knows – the Big Tax Case looming over Rangers could be decided and change the financial look of the club; players’ contracts will be running out; the ban on transfers may be reduced or increased; new financial penalties could become clearer at the Scottish Premier League and it may even report finally on it probe into possible illegal player registrations at Ibrox.
How can the Green consortium yet know what kind of business they’re possibly buying?
Follow Alex Thomson on Twitter @alextomo