Mike Ashley has won the battle for control of Rangers after the Ibrox board rejected a rival 11th-hour offer from the Sale Sharks owner, Brian Kennedy. The Newcastle United owner – who already has an 8.92% stake in the club – will now strengthen his grip on the boardroom after his offer of a £2m emergency loan was accepted by directors on Saturday morning.
Kennedy, a member of the Blue Knights consortium that failed to stop the club from falling into liquidation in the summer of 2012, had made a last-minute £3m counter-offer, but officials have decided to put their faith in Ashley.
This latest development now leaves the position of the chief executive, Graham Wallace, in grave doubt. The former Manchester City chief operating officer had been pushing for a £16m rescue package being put forward by the former oldco director Dave King, which put him in direct opposition with the football board chairman, Sandy Easdale – who controls a significant 26% stake – after the McGill’s Buses owner pushed ahead with attempts to involve Ashley.
The Sports Direct owner had already confirmed a deal to run Rangers’ retail division and bought naming rights to the stadium from the former chief executive Charles Green for just £1. Earlier this month he also called an emergency shareholder meeting to vote off Wallace and the finance director, Philip Nash. But when those talks with King broke down earlier this week, Nash decided to resign.
Ashley has already announced he will not sell Newcastle until the end of next season at the earliest and he is prevented from owning more than 10% of Rangers by a deal struck with the Scottish Football Association. However, a source close to the billionaire said he was keen to increase his involvement with the Glasgow club.
The source said: “Rangers are in serious financial difficulty and require his immediate financial help.”
The BBC reported that the club had in fact been just 48 hours away from going into administration before the new money was secured from Ashley, with potential administrators already in place. Rangers will use the cash injection to cover wages beyond November.
Reacting to Ashley’s move, Kennedy said: “We put an offer in but it was not accepted so now we graciously walk away and hope it all works out for Rangers.”