Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action on Saturday
Friday 30 March 2018 22:46, UK
Rangers chairman Dave King has made an offer for the remaining shares in the Scottish Premiership side following a court battle.
The Takeover Panel ruled in December he had worked with The Three Bears Group of Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, to take control of Rangers in 2015.
King has been fighting the Takeover Panel over the prospect of a £10.8m offering but has now made a compulsory offer for the shares of all other shareholders at 20p each which will total almost £16.3m.
In a statement on the club website, King said: "Supporters will be aware of the Takeover Panel's ruling last year that I must make an offer to the non- concert party minority shareholders of the Rangers International Football Club PLC.
"I have defended this ruling on the basis that any offer should not come from me but should be made by one of my trust companies. The Takeover Panel has relented to my request for which I am grateful.
"I confirm that it will be announced today that one of my trust companies will now proceed and shall within a short period make a fully funded offer in compliance with the normal requirements of the Takeover Panel."
Rangers shares are currently trading at 27.5p, seven-and-a-half pence more per share than King's offer, made through an investment company he is a director of.
The club, who currently sit second in the Scottish Premiership, return to league action against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday.
The club revealed its financial figures on Friday, reporting a deficit of about £1m for the final six months of last year.
Rangers issued a two-page document detailing unaudited trading results for Rangers International Football Club plc which showed an operating loss of £1.1m, following an operating profit of about £300,000 in the final six months of 2016.
Revenue for the six months was reported at £19.4m, up £3.1m on the same period in 2016, but operating expenses increased by £3.5m "excluding amortisation of players' registrations".
The overall loss was reported as £926,000, almost four times the deficit in the same period in 2016.
