Singapore businessman out of Rangers bid
Reuters - Friday 20 April 2012, 11:39
Singapore businessman Bill Ng
pulled out of the bidding for Scotland's Rangers on Friday in
the latest blow to administrators seeking to rescue the
debt-laden Glasgow club.
In a statement carried on the Straits Times website, Ng said
his five-man consortium had become "increasingly frustrated with
the process of dealing with the club administrators".
However, the report added that he could relaunch his bid if
administrators Duff and Phelps failed to reach a deal with other
potential bidders.
Sources close to the talks in Britain confirmed that Ng had
pulled out. He is chairman of Hougang United, a professional
team in Singapore's small S-League.
Rangers, Scottish champions a record 54 times, went into
administration in February over unpaid tax bills. They suffered
a 10-point penalty and have recently lost their league title to
Glasgow rivals Celtic.
Ng's group emerged as a front-runner this week when the
administrators said the Blue Knights consortium led by former
Rangers director Paul Murray were withdrawing from the bidding.
However, reports have said the Blue Knights would be ready
to revive their interest.
Brian Kennedy, a Scottish businessman who owns English rugby
club Sale Sharks, has made a verbal offer and a U.S. consortium
is also still in contention.
There are a number of issues complicating efforts to rescue
Rangers. The club owes around nine million pounds in unpaid taxes and faces a much larger potential liability in
another tax dispute dating back over a decade.
Craig Whyte, who bought an 85 percent stake in the club a
year ago for a nominal one pound, also raised more than 20 million
pounds against future season ticket sales in a deal with a
company called Ticketus.
The Scottish Premier League is also meeting at the end of
the month to decide if clubs which go insolvent and are then
reformed should be docked points in future seasons.