DECISION TIME
Rangers EGM voting revealed as Ibrox club plan £20million investment, new share issue and company switch.
It’s officially all systems go for the Rangers’ new era under American leadership.
That comes after the Ibrox club’s new US owners’ immediate plans were approved at an EGM.
It was just a few weeks ago that the American consortium led by health insurance mogul Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises agreed to take over the Rangers. After months of talks, the Gers announced at the end of May that everything had been finalised, ushering in a new era for the Light Blues. Cavenagh was immediately appointed as the club’s new chairman, with 49ers chief Paraag Marathe, who also serves as Leeds United’s chairman, taking on the role of vice chairman. The dramatic changes proceeded, with Kevin Thelwell swiftly taking over as sporting director before Russell Martin joined as head coach a week after the takeover was legally completed.
Martin is working with the Gers group for the first time today, as the players return for preseason training. With so much change happening at and around the club, fans are eager to see new players arrive sooner rather than later. And today, a significant step towards making that a reality has been proven. Cavenagh and Marathe are visiting Scotland for the first time since taking over the helm. They’ve travelled to Glasgow, where Rangers are conducting an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) this morning at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in the city centre. During the meeting, the club’s shareholders voted on many critical motions. The most significant of these was to approve the anticipated £20 million injection into the club.
Immediately after the transaction was completed, the new owners indicated their plan to invest the £20 million and launch a new share issuance, subject to shareholder approval. The resolution was passed at the top of the agenda, along with another resolution that was closely related to it. This means that new manager Martin will now have the funds to expand his squad. Time is of the essence when it comes to squad building, with the Champions League qualifications beginning in a month. Rangers will face Panathinaikos in the second qualifying round. The approval of the investment was not the only item on the agenda.
One of the other resolutions voted on was to approve Rangers’ transition from a PLC (public limited company) to a private limited company (LTD). Since 2012, the club has been known as “The Rangers International Football Club PLC.” It will now be called as ‘Rangers International Football Club Limited.’ The transition to a limited company alters the business structure and effectively gives the new owners an extra layer of control. Rangers characterise the change as allowing “it to operate with a more streamlined, agile governance structure.”
All resolutions approved with more than 98% agreement. At the end of the meeting, chairman Cavenagh stated, “Whether it was in the Q&A today or in the media down the road, we will talk about how we will do things differently, and on occasion, we’ll probably accidentally slip in the word ‘better’.” “And I want to make sure that doesn’t come over the wrong way – there are many people who came before us, and nothing we say about doing things differently should be interpreted as dismissing any of their efforts. “This club has been guided by some amazing people who have done everything because they love the club. They have dipped into their pockets to finance the club, and so we are incredibly grateful to those that came before us and think that the club owes them a debt of gratitude.
“The second thing I wanted to point out is that this has been a lengthy process. The first phone call, my “lightning bolt moment,” occurred in October. We concluded the sale in June, and today marks the consummation of that transaction. “But I want to be clear with everyone here that, while today symbolises the conclusion of that contract, it is not the end of the story; it is the beginning. And we realise that by purchasing 51% of this club, we have earned the right to compete, which we aim to do.
“We don’t believe this club needs a caretaker. We believe this club requires a catalyst, and we plan to provide that catalyst. “We loved our talk today. We appreciate our fans and shareholders taking time out of their busy days to spend it with us, and we look forward to the future.”
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