There may be some glib and shameless laughter if Dave King is forced to relinquish control of Newco by the court after his hearing, which takes place today and tomorrow. The Takeover Panel ruled that he led a Concert Party in the period leading up to his takeover of the club in March 2015. As a consequence, King was instructed to make an offer for the entire shareholding, which he failed to do. The simultaneous effects of ‘Cold Shouldering’ leaves the club hampered in their abilities to raise money.
None of this is welcome. I will be genuinely sorry if King is forced to relinquish control of Ibrox. His interference at the club, which started within days of Sevco 5088 being awarded the rights to buy Rangers assets by administrators Duff & Phelps, has been malignant.
Within a week of the Sevco 5088 offer being accepted, owner (disputed) Charles Green was asked to step aside. Green was quickly forced to abandon his projections, instead he had to over-promise what he could deliver, and sell cheap tickets in order to get fans, who wanted others to control the club, on board. Ever since Newco has haemorrhaged money.
It managed three promotions in four years, but now seems doomed to forever perform the role of hapless cash cow for the rest of the Premiership. They are good box office, add valuable income to the coffers of every club they visit, but are unable to generate enough money to break even.
The really puzzling aspect of King’s failure to make a share offer, following the Takeover Panel’s ruling, it that I’m sure it would probably cost buttons. If every shareholder took up the offer, there is a potential £11m bill, but surely few, if any, would exit at this stage, for 20p a share? I cannot see this being any more than an exercise of going through the motions.
Irrespective of the likely uptake of an offer, King would need to show the means to make good for the entire £11m, just in case, before proceeding. You or I could to through the motions of a meaningless £11m offer, but few of us could demonstrate the follow through. Perhaps King is in the same quandary.
I know we mock King’s pantomime PR and general ridiculous-ness, but he is perfect for the job of controlling Newco. For most people, for most clubs, this week’s shenanigans would be humiliating, but Dave and his cronies are made of stronger stuff. Hang in there, Dave, we will miss you when you are gone.
National Famine Memorial match-worn shirt
For as little as £5 you can win a genuine match-worn National Famine Memorial shirt – AND – help the Celtic FC Foundation do their magnificent work.
Matchw-worn shirts are scarce, Famine Memorial shirts scarcer still. They most often go to auction; they seldom, if ever, are available for a £5 raffle ticket. I know you want this, I know what it means to you. I know you want to do your bit for the Foundation too.
To enter, donate at least £5 here and send your confirmation email, with the answer to the question:
Who was the Brazilian cheat booked for diving when playing for PSG at Celtic Park last month?
Send your answer to celticquicknews@gmail.com with the answer in the SUBJECT line.
Good luck.
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TROONCELT welcome my fellow tim ktf.
TROONCELT on 12TH OCTOBER 2017 8:42 PM
Philology =philbhoy ,bloody predictive texts
PHILBHOY on 12TH OCTOBER 2017 8:44 PM
TROONCELT
I knew who you meant!
:-)
*******
Given that philology is the study of knowledge as it relates to languages, and particularly the development of languages, it feels like there is a joke in there somewhere …
or maybe I just spent too much time in Grad school.
:)
Is Tommy Wright right…is Pedro perpetually paranoid perchance?
PARK ROAD 67
I can’t find the Glasgow City team sheet is your pals daughter J.L.
KEEP THE FAITH
TroonCelt: have you met Johnny Adair?
Just kidding. Fàilte to the mhad hoose.
Great to see new posters at a time of declining posts.
FAIRHILL BHOY on 12TH OCTOBER 2017 6:47 PM
GERRYBHOY-I’m always reading back so just seen your good news,welcome to wee Innes.It goes without saying you have just joined the best wee club ever Gerrybhoy.:-)))Enjoy you visit on Friday
Thanks a lot for your good wishes! Can’t wait to see the wee Mhan tomorrow.
HH
Gerry
Thank you for the good wishes TONYROME and Troon Celt. Looking forward to Glasgow tomorrow to meet my wee man!
HH
Gerry
Gerrybhoy, congratutions to you and your family .
Oíche mhaith, a chairde.
Hope Wee BGFC is doing his homework in Germany:-)
Gerrybhoy , congratulations to you and your family.
TROONCELT
Welcome aboard to another Tim from God’s county!!!
Welcome to the Papa Club,Gerrybhoy
Hoopy birthday to Ianbhoy and 50 Shades.
The nearer it gets to the Munich game the more I am looking forward to watching it.Must have something to do with knowing so many going!
welcome on board troon celt
for sure CQN needs new posters
tell me
i am on commission work here, hun-finder general
in ayrshire , have you ever seen a handsome hun ?
As BMCUWP says welcome to Trooncelt
M did you see Corkcelt post re emails
Put me down for the usual for your mates girl
I’d give the Scotland job to Mr Neil Lennon.
Probably why I’ll never be employed at the SFA.
Ps if Neil doesn’t want it ask Martin O’Neill.
:-)
Or Roy Keane
TONYROME
Hi Tony , my pal’s daughter is E McS not JL , she came on as a sub in City game with 5 mins to go , re-joined City last month after being out with long term injury , she had been playing in Sweden HH !
Brendan rodgers for the scotland job,
win the world cup in 2022
COSYCORNERBHOY
Consider it done!
Just hitting the road now,so I’ll do it in the morning.
HH
YORKBHOY on 12TH OCTOBER 2017 7:50 PM
Scotland- We need a root and branch clear out.
Must say,I prefer tree at the back.
Reading that Jozo, Broonie and Stu are fit for next week.
Is that a fact or wishful thinking, just hadn’t read it anywhere else but been out of contact most of today.
Trooncelt, welcome. Didn’t think there were that many Tims in Ayrshire :))
GUTENBERG on 12TH OCTOBER 2017 11:26 PM
Fact.You did not miss much,all about Scotland.
Nite all.
Would love to be heading to Munchen but school holidays etc.
I know, poor excuse.
In all probability we’ll lose, and maybe by a few, however those I know that are heading there are optimistic in the extreme.
So much so it’s rubbing off and maybe, just maybe…
Regardless, we’ll do ourselves proud off the park, of that I have no doubt.
wouldnt normally post a link, but this is funny
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ibrox-chairman-dave-king-admits-11333770
Saint stivs
Not a f in one
To all
Thanks for welcome, hopefully can contribute to the blog
Goodnight &God Bless you all
Ktf
HH
SFA CEO Steward Regan
Employed 2010
Failed to Qaulify 2012 Euros
Failed to Qualify 2014 World Cup
Failed to Qualify 2016 Euros
Failed to Qaulify 2018 World Cup
Are there any dogs barking near or even in the vicinity of his caravan ?
Ibrox chairman Dave King admits he doesn’t have the ready cash to pay £11m to own Rangers
A court hears how the tycoon’s assets are tied up in offshore family trusts so he can’t stump up the funds needed to make an official buyout of the club.
The Takeover Panel has gone to the Court of Session in a bid to make Dave King offer £11m for Rangers shares he cash to fund an £11million buyout of club shareholders, a judge heard yesterday.
The 62-year-old tycoon’s assets are tied up in offshore family trusts, so he can’t personally stump up the “free funds” to make such an offer, the Court of Session in Edinburgh heard.
King has been hit by legal action from the Takeover Panel after they accused him of breaching rules over his acquisition of the Ibrox club in 2015.
The financial watchdogs ruled he had worked “in consort” with a trio of businessmen – the so-called Three Bears – to take control of Rangers by acquiring a combined 34 per cent stake.
Rangers Chairman Dave King addresses fans at Ibrox at the start of the season in June (Image: Getty Images Europe)
READ MORE
Rangers chairman Dave King taken to court by Takeover Panel over failure to issue £11m share buyout offer
That breached the 30 per cent barrier that triggers a mandatory buyout offer according to UK rules.
The panel took King to court after he flouted their demand that he offers 20p a share to purchase the remaining stake. Many of these shares are owned by supporters.
Lord Davidson of Glen Clova QC, representing King, said a judge’s order to force his client to set out a share payout was “pointless” and “a waste of resources”, adding: “He does not happen to have the £10million to £12million needed.”
Lord Davidson said King would be compelled to send out “curious” letters to shareholders telling them he’d “been ordered to make an offer but doesn’t have the money to pay them”.
Dave King made his cash in South Africa although his wine estate was sold to pay a tax bill
The South Africa-based businessman could then face a contempt charge and a criminal conviction for violating any court-imposed directive, he added.
Discussing his client’s lack of direct control over family money, Lord Davidson said: “Mr King is not the trust. The trust is another person.
“The beneficiary can’t order the trust to do whatever he wants. They are not responsive to the whims of Mr King.”
The hearing was told King instructed the buying of 14.75 per cent of Rangers shares on December 31, 2014, through New Oasis Asset Management Ltd (Noal), based in the British Virgin Islands. The purchase was made two days later.
Together with shares acquired by the Three Bears, it gave them a combined 34.05 per cent of Rangers’ share capital.
The panel said Noal are wholly owned by Sovereign Trustee International Limited, the trustees of the Glencoe Investment Trust, which was established to benefit King, his wife and children.
The money to pay for Rangers shares came from Glencoe and they were held by Noal, the judge was told.
Rangers directors Dave King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan celebrate after winning control of the Ibrox boardroom in March 2013 (Image: Daily Record)
READ MORE
Rangers chairman Dave King could face £14m bill for breaching financial rules during Ibrox takeover
The court heard King denied being in contact with George Letham – one of the Three Bears along with George Taylor and Douglas Park – about buying up shares.
But the panel unearthed a Hogmanay 2014 email sent to King by Letham warning him about the threat of having to make a “mandatory offer” if they acquired more then 30 per cent.
Commenting on King’s denial, Advocate James McNeill QC, acting for the Takeover Panel, said: “This statement is very difficult to square with a genuine effort to recall what happened.”
Judge Lord Bannatyne asked whether it was “absolutely reasonable” that King should have to make the share offer as he’d been warned about the buyout threshold by Letham.
Lord Davidson replied the email didn’t demonstrate King had an “understanding” of the rules, adding: “Not everyone necessarily has a grip over the takeover code.”
Rangers investor George Letham is described as one of the ‘Three Bears’ (Image: SNS Group)
Some entrepreneurs drove ahead in deals, he said, and “let the lawyers sort out the details”.
The court heard Letham denied to the panel during a phone interview that he’d had any communication with King about the share buys.
When shown his message to King, Letham allegedly told investigators that it was “the one email that really surprised me”.
King has denied acting in consort with the Three Bears.
This email was evidence of consort, McNeill said.
The hearing was told King denied ever owning shares in Rangers.
McNeill said King was being “somewhat disingenuous” when he told them: “I am not and never have been a shareholder in Rangers.”
King maintains the stake in Rangers is held by Noal.
The court heard he told the panel before their official hearing on the matter that he’d “never been a director of Noal, had no legal capacity to represent them and in the circumstances was in no position to advance their interests”.
But the panel, who launched their investigation in early 2015, said they found evidence King was able to control Noal voting rights.
Rangers fan George Taylor has bought into the club
Rangers fan George Taylor also bought into the club (Image: Getty Images)
READ MORE
Rangers chairman Dave King taken to court by Takeover Panel over failure to issue £11m share buyout offer
McNeill cited another Hogmanay 2014 email, this time from King to a director of Sovereign, as evidence of his control over Noal.
The email said “we now need to get an account opened on behalf of Noal” with financial services specialists Cantor Fitzgerald to allow the share deal to proceed.
McNeill added the Rangers website had listed King, his wife and children as parties interested in Noal shares.
The Takeover Panel said King’s argument that he is unable to represent Noal was only made in October 2016. McNeill said that was “at odds” with his previous behaviour.
He added the Rangers chairman didn’t turn up for the panel’s official hearing, so he “avoided any questions on the subject”.
McNeill insisted King never offered “any evidence that Noal exercised any action independent of him”.
And he’d had “ample opportunity” to provide documents proving there was no consort with the Three Bears but hadn’t done so.
The panel said they had “no doubt” King controlled Noal voting rights and said he was able to remove members of the Rangers board to effect a “change of control” in early 2015.
Rangers chairman Dave King (right) speaks to the press at Ibrox (Image: SNS Group)
Under takeover rules, shareholders with a 30 per cent stake in a business must make a “speedy offer” to buy the other shares at the highest price they’ve been listed at during the past year.
That figure was 20p in the case of Rangers. The court heard the club have about 5500 shareholders and shares are now worth 27p.
McNeill said it was “unlikely” many shareholders would take up the share purchase offer.
He noted “demand for Rangers’ shares exceeds supply” and the club’s board could make a recommendation that shareholders turn down the deal.
READ MORE
Rangers chief Dave King warned that a Craig Whyte takeover at Ibrox could lead to a police probe
McNeill said the Takeover Panel acknowledged the share buys by King and the Three Bears took place during “chaotic circumstances” for the club, and “people were acting in what they thought was the best interests for Rangers ”.
He added it was “very rare” for the panel to take such legal action.
But shareholders who have “otherwise been disenfranchised” should be “protected by giving them a chance to respond to an offer”.
The hearing continues.
Hello this is WEE BGFC. Hello almore! Wore the united irishmen CSC top today for the trip. Weather update for malorbhoy: Beutiful sunny day in Munich! Advance party path finder report: they have beer – lots of it!!!!!! ( spightly less now than when we arrived 5 hours ago)
HH
WEE BGFC
bgfc,
predictive vision tells me you guys will be singing this
this is the day when we won away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGFFNdfgx7Y
Stuart Armstrong (Celtic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X26SOW6-SMI
Celtic Fans | Callum McGregor Song | Celtic vs Hibs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCrzSRt6v78
King Con, another RRM who reamed the hun hordes for plenty….and the next Nigerian Prince is….?
Oh my aching sides…
Kieran Tierney song & fans mocking Sevco’s Foderingham @ Ibrox (23/09/2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkFFzwuO4Ws
“Grace” song sounding inside Ibrox (23/09/2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcGKWD5aca4
0:12 / 1:00
LEIGH GRIFFITHS GOAL Celtic 2-0 Rangers (23/09/17) plus Griffiths and Brown pissing off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRiy5PvbrvA
Soccer Saturdays Commentary Rangers. 23/9/2017
this is quite funny. if your at the match you obviously didnt hear this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3b-IztccU8
Tontine Tim
Having read back and being a Celtic supporter for over 70 years I really do appreciate your memories of past Celtic games.
However your use of nom de plumes and your own rhyming slang leaves a lot to be desired!
If an old stager like me has to scratch his head to figure which player you are referring to – what chance has any of our younger readers?
For example, I have never heard of my team being called ‘the leather belts’ – why not just say the Celts?
Having said that I loved your reminescences wth regards to the Brogan brothers – both of whom I really thought were proud wearers of the Celtic jersey!
Hail! Hail!
Terrymac