Rangers takeover: Fresh turmoil as Bill Miller pulls out

THE future of Rangers was thrown into doubt once again last night when the preferred bidder, the American businessman Bill Miller, withdrew his offer to buy the club.

Announcing his decision, the trucking magnate said fans’ opposition to his involvement and a greater appreciation of the true extent of the club’s financial problems were the reasons for pulling out.

The Glasgow club has been in disarray since mid-February, when it went in administration following a court battle with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Since then, administrator Duff & Phelps has been working to find a new owner, resulting in Mr Miller being named preferred bidder last week.

But last night, Mr Miller said problems emerged when his company began its due diligence into the club. He said in his statement: “Until then, information had been limited to what was made available in the internet data room and questions addressed to the administrators and their staff.

“In addition, I had preliminary discussions with the Scottish footballing authorities and limited discussions with [Rangers manager] Ally McCoist.”

Mr Miller last month unveiled his plans for Rangers, which would have involved the creation of an “incubator” company in an attempt to avoid penalties for going into liquidation.

Last night Mr Miller said after working through the weekend, a gloomy picture of the club’s finances had emerged: “By late Monday night, it became clear to me that preliminary information, discussions and analysis were, unfortunately, more optimistic than reality.”

Mr Miller had yet to visit the club, but said that the fans’ opposition to his bid was also a factor in his decision to abandon the move.

During a recent match against Dundee United, fans had held up banners reading: “Truck off Miller – Yanks no thanks” and “Miller Time: No thanks to asset- stripping Yanks.”

Mr Miller’s statement said: “Having no intention of negatively affecting the potential outcome of the club’s future and after hearing the message from Rangers supporters and fans loud and clear (“Yank go home!”), I notified the administrators today that I have withdrawn my bid for Rangers and will not be moving forward.”

He added he was “deeply disappointed” over the decision, stating that he had viewed the opportunity to own “one of the most historic football clubs in the world an honour and a privilege”.

He said: “I wish Rangers fans, supporters and employees my very best. I hope all your dreams and wishes come true. You certainly deserve it.

“I am most disappointed that I won’t have the opportunity to walk into Ibrox Stadium on the day of an Old Firm match, as my friends tell me the hair on my arm will stand up and I will never witness such passion and spirit at any sporting event.”

He concluded his statement: “God speed, Rangers!”

Last night, Jon Pritchett, chief executive of Club 9 Sports, who had previously worked with Miller on a bid and who was still advising him said: “There were three contributing factors to his decision not to go forward.

“There are big legacy costs as a result of doing things poorly over a number of years, structural and commercial problems. It would be a hard time turning things around and implementing structural changes and discipline. Such changes would have made Bill very unpopular, given the way things have operated.

“Even after Bill announced his austerity measures last week, there were people within the club asking how much money was available to be spent. It would take a fairly large amount of money to keep it from dying.”

Mr Pritchett added: “The second factor is some of the contingency liabilities: Are the players coming or going? What are the final decisions with regard to the SFA and SPL and sanctions?

“The third factor was more about the environment. It was a fairly inhospitable environment for Bill. He was getting hundreds of e-mails every day – vitriol and expletive-filled – saying ‘Go home Yank’.

“With that combination of factors, Bill asked himself if it was really worth spending part of his children’s inheritance on this. He decided this morning that it wasn’t.”

Administrators had opted for Mr Miller’s £11.2 million bid over a rival offer from the Blue Knights consortium, led by former Rangers director Paul Murray and backed by Brian Kennedy, the owner of English rugby club Sale Sharks.

The American had been hopeful of completing his takeover by the end of the season, although he was seeking clarification over sanctions imposed on Rangers by the football authorities.

Reacting to Mr Miller’s withdrawal, David Whitehouse, the joint administrator for Duff & Phelps, said it was “regrettable that more progress could not be made to further the sale of the club.”

He said Mr Miller’s advisers had said there had been a number of issues which he had felt “uncomfortable” about, “including legacy contracts, the limitation of potential revenue streams and the expectation of required investment”.

HMRC is currently in a battle with Rangers, claiming tax is due on some players’ payments dating back to 2001. It is claimed the club is facing a potential bill of up to £75m.

Mr Whitehouse said that the Miller bid had been given preferred status because it was “deliverable to creditors and was the only deliverable bid on the table at that time. We had no other unconditional bid”.

He added: “Given the fact that Mr Miller did not enter into an exclusivity agreement, we informed all other known potential bidders at the time the door was not closed.

“As a consequence of Mr Miller’s bid being accepted, three other bidders have come forward to express their interest in buying the club, and these offers are being evaluated with the utmost urgency.

“There is every opportunity for these bidders to now complete the purchase of the club prior to the end of the season.”

It was unclear last night whether the three bidders had been previously involved. It is not known if the Blue Knights consortium is still making a bid. Previous interest had been shown by a Far East consortium led by Singapore-based businessman Bill Ng and a mystery German consortium.

Last night, fans reacted with anger over Duff & Phelps’s handling of the process, branding it a “farce” that had placed the future of the club in further peril.

Mark Dingwall, board member of Rangers Supporters Trust, said there had been scepticism among fans about Mr Miller’s intentions for the club and ability to pull it out its current position.

He said: “I think it was always a big ask. The scale of the task for one individual would have been a pretty tall order.”

Mr Dingwall said Mr Miller’s unwillingness to engage with fans was the source of hostility.