Gers takeover hits snag

The protracted takeover saga at Rangers looks set to drag on

Sky Sports News understands that Craig Whyte’s bid to buy Rangers is set to drag on after some board members decided they would prefer to wait for the deal to be concluded at the end of the season.

The protracted takeover saga had appeared to be moving towards a conclusion and it is understood that Whyte was in a position to complete the deal on Monday night.

The proposed deal, which was originally costed at around £33million, would see the Scottish tycoon take over 75% of Sir David Murray’s shareholding, with London-based property developer Andrew Ellis becoming a 25% partner.

Having met all the criteria laid down by Murray and agreed terms with Lloyds Bank, the Whyte camp is now understood to be unhappy with the hold-up after board members including chairman Alastair Johnston asked for talks to continue to the end of the season.

Delay

Johnston is part of the independent committee which comprises of Rangers board members – including chief executive Martin Bain, John McClelland, Donald McIntyre and John Greig – and although they cannot block the deal going through, they could delay it.

It is understood that Motherwell-born businessman Whyte is reluctant to allow the saga to stretch until the end of the campaign as the club have season tickets to sell and manager-in-waiting Ally McCoist has pre-season preparations to make and a squad to assemble.

Whyte, who made his money as a venture capitalist and is now based in London, confirmed in a statement to the Stock Exchange back in November that he was considering making an offer for Rangers and was in talks with Murray International Holdings.

If he succeeds, a sum of around £25million could be made available over five years for investment in team development, as well as the club’s debt being paid off.