AMERICAN businesswoman Kyle Fox has confirmed she is still open to talks to part-own Rangers - despite her firm formally withdrawing after a dispute over allegations surrounding the purchase.
Kyle Fox founder of US-based KRF Capital had been assisted by former Rangers director Paul Murray and Adrian Bevington, a former senior executive with the English Football Association in an initial takeover bid to buy 75% of the club shares.
The deal changed to a potential purchase of 25% of Rangers costing £27m with an additional capital investment of £75m.
The head of global advisory firm KRF Capital made the decision to formally withdraw amid ongoing resistance from key shareholders at the Glasgow club.
It comes after a potential deal for former chairman Dave King to sell his shares to fan shareholder group Club 1872 fell through.
Ms Fox was taken to court in the USA by Rangers last August after being accused of using the Rangers official crest and logs in a bid to lure investors.
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The case was subsequently withdrawn with the KRF Capital founder and manager still keen on pursuing a deal before deciding to take a step back.
"We were drawn to the football club by its fans, who are arguably the most passionate in all of sports, said Ms Fox. “The focal point of our approach as a capital group is to galvanize fandom by converging performance, media distribution and fan engagement to drive interaction beyond matchday.
"Modern professional European sports organizations are implementing these strategies to add millions of curos to their bottom line to support the club in all areas, from recruitment to player support, merchandizing and enhanced content delivery.
“Our proposal was a combination of providing liquidity for those shareholders who wished to sell and ongoing investment into the club to improve performance on and off the field."
KRF Capital confirmed it was withdrawing after "nine months of negotiations" but said it remained "open to conversations in the future with the club leadership".
Former Rangers chairman Dave King (right) and former director Paul Murray
The firm went on: "KRF Capital will continue to explore other professional sports club investment opportunities where we can execute our strategy to bring strategic technology and operational expertise, capital and access to significant product partners. We are passionate about investing in professional sports, an uncorrelated asset, and driving value through championing technology to enhance content while driving data-driven solutions for partners and clients."
Last year during a bitter court battle, she accused the "all-male board" of "unfair and baseless bullying tactics" as Rangers claimed damages over allegations that she was using an "investor presentation deck" document featuring the club's logos to raise money from investors to buy shares in the club.
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Rangers are seeking compensation from Ms Fox’s company KRF Capital for damage to its “business relationships, goodwill and reputation”. Ms Fox says the action is "frivolous" and that her actions have been "misrepresented".
Mr Murray said in legal documents that Ms Fox had an interest in her company acquiring a European football club and admitted that he "offered to help her explore a potential acquisition of a stake in the club and put her in touch with board members and shareholders."
He said he had introduced Ms Fox to the board's deputy chairman before she made a takeover bid.
Mr King revealed in a statement last month that plans to allow Club 1872 more time to complete the purchase of his shares had proved "futile" with the financial sums paid out by December 2022 falling well short of the initial agreement.
The supporter group completed their first share purchase from Mr King back in 2021 after a £13m deal had been struck with the ex-Rangers chairman to purchase his major shareholding within the Scottish Premiership side. The end goal was to see the organisation gain more than 25% of shares, giving Rangers fans a voice in the running of the club, and allow the group a stronger standing in future share issues.
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Among potential reasons given for the deal being terminated, Mr King blamed "the club's recent campaign against Club 1872 and its officers" and that some supporters would back joint fan ownership "but not within Club 1872".
Other reasons included that supporters no longer feel the club is under threat.
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