{"id":354515,"date":"2011-03-31T19:50:35","date_gmt":"2011-03-31T19:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/31\/whyte-flies-in-for-gers-talks\/"},"modified":"2011-03-31T19:50:35","modified_gmt":"2011-03-31T19:50:35","slug":"whyte-flies-in-for-gers-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/31\/whyte-flies-in-for-gers-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Whyte flies in for Gers talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\t <\/p>\n

\n
\n

20110331<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n

\n

Board members to meet with prospective new owner<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t Last updated: 31st March 2011\u00a0\u00a0 \"Subscribe<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Craig Whyte has arrived in Glasgow to meet with members of the Rangers board for discussions over a possible takeover.\n<\/p>\n

Lloyds Banking Group claimed on Wednesday that they were satisfied with the Scottish businessman’s plans for addressing the defending Scottish champions’ debt, which is expected to be around the \u00a320million mark – down from June’s figure of \u00a327million – when figures are released on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Whyte’s bid to become the new owner of the Ibrox club now appears to be gathering pace after he flew in for fresh talks.<\/p>\n

Whyte will outline his plans to board members including Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, who travelled to the UK on Thursday from his base in the United States to deliver the club’s financial results.<\/p>\n

The meeting is thought to be a courtesy call rather than crucial to the outcome of Whyte’s bid but it is the first time some of the board members have met the London-based tycoon.<\/p>\n

Whyte has been attempting to purchase the Glasgow club since November and the only remaining hurdle is to conclude terms with current owner Sir David Murray.<\/p>\n

In the balance<\/h4>\n

Given that the debt at the Ibrox club appears to have been reduced by around \u00a37million, Whyte will have to pay less than the original figure of around \u00a333million.<\/p>\n

If all goes well for Whyte, he will take over 75 per cent of Murray’s shareholding, with London-based property developer Andrew Ellis becoming a 25% partner.<\/p>\n

The takeover appeared to be hanging in the balance earlier in the week after reports suggested the bank’s demands for an ‘exit payment’ of more than \u00a31million was a stumbling block.<\/p>\n

However, Lloyds responded by denying the existence of any exit or redemption fee.<\/p>\n

Whyte, who made his money as a venture capitalist, 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.<\/p>\n

If he succeeds with his buyout of the club, a sum of around \u00a325million could be made available over five years for investment in team development.<\/p>\n

Manager Walter Smith, who will quit the Scottish champions at the end of the season and will be replaced by his assistant Ally McCoist, met with Whyte for the first time earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\tClick Here for Your Free Bet<\/a>\t<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t <\/p>\n

\t<\/span><\/div>\n

‘ );
\n\t\t\t\t\t}
\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t$.ajax(
\n\t\t\t\t\turl: “\/yourview\/comments_json\/0,26302,6845012_”+selectedPageNumber+”_20,00.txt”,
\n\t \t\t\t\tcache: true,
\n\t\t\t\t\tdataType: “json”,
\n\t \t\t\t\tsuccess: function(json)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tloadingFinished = true;\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).html(”);
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tprocessJSONComments(json, selectedPageNumber);<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tif (typeof _hbPageView != “undefined”)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmyPN = hbx.pn + ” – ” + selectedPageNumber;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmyMLC = hbx.mlc + “\/” + selectedPageNumber;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t_hbPageView(myPN, myMLC);<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tif (typeof SKY_TRACKING != “undefined”)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ section will remain as it is on the page
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ contentType will be “article comments” or “match comments”
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSKY_TRACKING.contentType = “article comments”;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSKY_TRACKING.pagination = “page ” + selectedPageNumber;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsky.tracking.launch ( SKY_TRACKING );<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).css(‘min-height’, ” );
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).css(‘display’, ” );<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).children(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box-comment’).show();
\n\t\t\t\t\t},
\n\t\t\t\t\terror: function (XMLHttpRequest, textStatus, errorThrown)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tloadingFinished = true;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments #loading’).remove();
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).children(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box-comment’).show();<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t});<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\twindow.location.hash=’yourviewcomments’;\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\treturn false;
\n\t\t\t});
\n\t\t}<\/p>\n

\t\tfunction processJSONComments(json,page)
\n\t\t\tvar perPage = 20;
\n\t\t\tvar beginIndex = (page-1) * perPage;
\n\t\t\tvar createdComments = 0;
\n\t\t\tvar comment;<\/p>\n

\t\t\t$(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box ul.pagination li’).removeClass(‘on’);
\n\t\t\t$(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box ul.pagination’).find(‘li:eq(‘+page+’)’).addClass(‘on’);
\n\t\t\t$(‘.pag-key span’).html(page);<\/p>\n

\t\t\tfor(var i in json)
\n\t\t\t\tcomment = jsoni;
\n\t\t\t\tcreateComment(i, comment);
\n\t\t\t\tcreatedComments++;<\/p>\n

\t\t\tupdatePagination(page);
\n\t\t}<\/p>\n

\t\tfunction processXMLComments(xml,page)
\n\t\t\tvar perPage = 20;
\n\t\t\tvar beginIndex = (page-1) * perPage;
\n\t\t\tvar createdComments = 0;<\/p>\n

\t\t\t$(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box ul.pagination li’).removeClass(‘on’);
\n\t\t\t$(‘.ss-opinion-comment-box ul.pagination’).find(‘li:eq(‘+page+’)’).addClass(‘on’);
\n\t\t\t$(‘.pag-key span’).html(page);<\/p>\n

\t\t\t$(“comment”,xml).each(
\n\t\t\t\tfunction(index,node)
\n\t\t\t\t\tcreateComment(index, node);
\n\t\t\t\t\tcreatedComments++;<\/p>\n

\t\t\t);<\/p>\n

\t\t\tupdatePagination(page);
\n\t\t}<\/p>\n

\t\tfunction updatePagination(page)
\n\t\t\tvar paginationItems = $(“ul.pagination”);
\n\t\t\tvar totalPages = 0;
\n\t\t\tvar startPage = 1;<\/p>\n

\t\t\tif( totalPages ‘ +
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstartPage + ”;<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif( startPage == page )
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$(node).addClass(‘on’);
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t else
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$(node).removeAttr(‘class’);<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$(node).html(pageHtml);<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstartPage++;
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t}
\n\t\t\t\t\t);
\n\t\t\t\t}
\n\t\t\t);<\/p>\n

\t\t\tsetupCommentPageClickHandlers();<\/p>\n

\t\t}<\/p>\n

\t\tfunction createComment(index, commentNode )
\n\t\t\tif(commentNode.ownerDocument)
\n\t\t\t\tvar user = $(“user”,commentNode).text();
\n\t\t\t\tvar favTeam = $(“favTeam”,commentNode).text();
\n\t\t\t\tvar comment = $(“body”,commentNode).text();
\n\t\t\t\tvar dateCreated = $(“dateCreated”,commentNode).text();
\n\t\t\t\tvar editorComments = $(“editorComments”,commentNode).text();
\n\t\t\t else
\n\t\t\t\tvar user = commentNode.user;
\n\t\t\t\tvar favTeam = commentNode.favTeam;
\n\t\t\t\tvar comment = commentNode.body;
\n\t\t\t\tvar dateCreated = commentNode.dateCreated;
\n\t\t\t\tvar editorComments = commentNode.editorComments;
\n\t\t\t\tvar nomination = commentNode.ysTitle;<\/p>\n

\t\t\tvar commentHTML = ”;<\/p>\n

\t\t\t$(‘#load-comments’).append(commentHTML);
\n\t\t}<\/p>\n

\nSend us your views<\/legend>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\t\t