Dave King '˜in breach of takeover rules' with '˜defective' shares offer

Rnagers chairman Dave King has breached takeover rules after failing to produce the money for his shares bid.
Dave King pictured at Ibrox. The Rangers chairman has breached takeover rules. Picture: SNS GroupDave King pictured at Ibrox. The Rangers chairman has breached takeover rules. Picture: SNS Group
Dave King pictured at Ibrox. The Rangers chairman has breached takeover rules. Picture: SNS Group

The South Africa-based businessman, who it was revealed was due to comply with a court order to make an offer to purchase the Ibrox club’s remaining shares, lost two Court of Session hearings after the Takeover Panel took action following its claim that King had “acted in concert” with three other stakeholders in March 2015, when he launched his boardroom bid.

King co-operated with a trio of investors dubbed the “Three Bears” to secure 30 per cent of the shares in the club which, the Panel said, amounted to a formal takeover bid.

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• READ MORE - Dave King makes £11m offer for Rangers shares after court battle

King had until yesterday to contact shareholders with an offer to buy up the rest of the remaining two-thirds of the club’s equity at 20p per share. Acquiring the remaining shares would take King’s holding to nearly 70 per cent.

If fully subscribed, King could have been faced with a bill for £10.75 million.

But his offer was described as defective late on Thursday, after he failed to provide “code-compliant” third-party proof that he had the money to pay for the shares.

King is expected to use cash from a firm owned by one of his family trusts in South Africa to cover the bid. It was reported last month that the company was Laird Investments (Property) Limited, of which King is a director.

Rangers International Football Club plc have now contacted the country’s government in a bid to get the funds moved to the UK.

A statement on the club’s website read: “RIFC is seeking the necessary South African Government approvals to permit the cash required for the offer to be transferred to the United Kingdom to enable an appropriate third party to provide the cash confirmation.

“Meantime, the Takeover Panel has asked RIFC to advise shareholders that the Panel will take all appropriate steps to seek to ensure that a Code-compliant offer is made as soon as possible.”

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