Dave King set to sell Rangers shares to kickstart 49ers takeover

Dave King set to sell Rangers shares to kickstart 49ers takeover

Dave King will relinquish control of his Rangers shareholding (Image: SNS)

Dave King is poised to set the wheels in motion for regime change at Ibrox by selling his major shareholding in Rangers to an American consortium.

King holds a 12.96 per cent stake in RIFC plc and remains the single largest stakeholder in Rangers. That is now poised to change as an investment group associated with 49ers Enterprises – headed by Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe – look to clinch a multi-million pound takeover in the coming weeks.

The Rangers Review detailed on Thursday how the arrival of Marathe and his money men would signal sweeping changes around the Ibrox boardroom table as several mainstays of the investor group prepare to sell up. And it is former chairman King who could lead the way as the American group look to strike a deal for his stake in his boyhood club.

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King told the Rangers Review in September that there was ‘investor fatigue’ at Ibrox as he called for fresh faces and fresh investment around the top table. A bid to return to the club as chairman was knocked back by the board as John Gilligan was asked to steady the ship following John Bennett’s resignation.

The South Africa-based businessman has maintained a strong interest in matters on and off the field at Ibrox in recent months. And talks that will result in regime change – ten years after King, Gilligan and Murray won control of the club from the hands of Mike Ashley and Easdales – will continue in the coming weeks before respective deals are signed and sealed.

King is followed by Douglas Park (11.54 per cent) and George Taylor (10.22 per cent), while Stuart Gibson and John Bennett, the largest lender at present, hold around nine per cent and seven per cent respectively. Two directors on the RIFC plc board, Halsted and Wolhardt, control 6.69 per cent and six per cent.

The new investor corps will have a key decision to make in their first weeks in office after pressure mounted on boss Philippe Clement. Chief executive Patrick Stewart backed the beleaguered Belgian this week as he outlined one of the major recommendations to come from his ongoing probe into the football operation at Auchenhowie.

“So, the review is progressing well,” Stewart told RangersTV. “We have got a lot of insights into things that are going well and not well at Auchenhowie. I would really compliment the staff and how open and honest they’ve been.

“And they provided really valuable feedback to myself and also the consultants we’ve got on supporting with it. And we’re beginning to get some real tangible insights that are flowing into real recommendations that we’re starting to action.

“And the most significant action that has arisen from this is that we’ve identified the need to appoint somebody that has got responsibility for the entire football operations throughout the club. So we are now in the market for a sporting director.

“And that role will put somebody right at the top of the football tree, an experienced football person at the top of the tree that will be responsible for all aspects of the football club to make sure that they’re working together towards fulfilling a holistic joined up plan. So that’s something that we’re in the market now for a sporting director.”

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