Rangers bids deadline to be extended

Chief football writer

Monday 23 April 2012

RANGERS' administrators are likely to pull back from naming a preferred bidder for the club today after hours of intense negotiations ended in stalemate last night.

PAUL MURRAY: Leading The Blue Knights consortium.

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Michael Grant

Administrators Duff & Phelps had set today as a deadline for naming either Paul Murray's Blue Knights or American businessman Bill Miller as their preferred choice to address the club's massive debts and take it out of owner Craig Whyte's hands.

But ongoing obstacles apply to both deals and neither of the bidders were ready to commit to an unconditional offer without receiving clarification from, among others, the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Premier League.There was speculation last night that a deal had essentially been done to name The Blue Knights as the preferred bidder today but that was unfounded.Former Rangers director Mr Murray will have further talks with the administrators and the Blue Knights also want to hear more from the SFA and SPL on exactly what punishments Rangers can expect to face next season and beyond as a result of their insolvency.The Blue Knights are also still attempting to agree a partnership with the London ticket agency Ticketus, which is owed £27 million by Rangers for future season-ticket sales. Being able to finance a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) will be far easier for The Blue Knights if the debt to Ticketus is removed from the creditors' pot.Mr Miller's plan essentially involves Rangers being liquidated and reborn as a "newco". It is still unclear whether he will firm up his existing £11.2m conditional offer for Rangers – which is not acceptable to Duff & Phelps as things stand – with an unconditional bid.The American businessman wants guarantees from the SFA and SPL that they may be unable to give. If he decides to back away there would be more breathing space for The Blue Knights to agree terms.One source close to the discussions told The Herald: "There are real and pressing issues for the bidders and it is frustrating for everyone."There are a lot of parties involved in this part of the process. Everyone wants to reach the stage where they can be comfortable moving forward, whichever bidder is chosen."Mr Murray and other Rangers-supporting businessmen in the Blue Knights held final rounds of discussions last night on the terms of their full takeover plan. They had been led to believe their £10m package would be welcomed by Duff & Phelps, but they were not in a position to submit the offer.Further meetings will now be set up between The Blue Knights and the SFA and SPL.The SFA has still to announce the outcome of a judicial panel's deliberations on seven charges against Whyte and the club as a whole, while the SPL may vote on April 30 to immediately introduce tough new penalties for clubs which go into administration or are liquidated and attempt to re-enter the league as a "newco".As for Mr Miller, he said on Friday that any offer he made would be conditional on the SFA and SPL giving Rangers written guarantees that the club would face no further punishments – such as points deductions or reduced broadcasting income – if they re-merged as a newco.He said he was making details of his £11.2m offer public but would put it on hold until today and called on other bidders to "put up or shut up".

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Rangers bids deadline to be extended

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