Blue Knights Set Friday Deadline for Rangers Bid

May 11, 2012

Rangers’ administrators have received a ultimatum today from Blue Knights bid leader Brian Kennedy who has set a friday deadline for the bid or they they will walk away.

Sale Sharks owner Kennedy has reportedly struck a deal with Craig Whyte to acquire his 85 per cent shareholding and will now push Duff and Phelps to name a bidder.

The Blue Knights were previously offered preferred bidder status but former partners Ticketus would not pay the exclusivity fee and they were then beaten by Bill Miller, who withdrew on Tuesday. 

Kennedy told the Daily Record they were now at the ‘end of the road’. 

‘If our bid is not accepted in the next few hours then, most reluctantly, we will have to withdraw from the process by lunchtime,’ he said. ‘Let me be absolutely clear. This is not brinkmanship or an empty threat.

‘We have a plan to save this club but my lawyers, Walker Morris, have advised me it will not be possible to execute a CVA unless, on Saturday morning, we begin working, full-time and flat out on due diligence and documentation.

“Any later than that and our plan cannot be delivered with any legal certainty.

‘For that reason we’ll be forced to withdraw our offer today and neither I nor any member of the Blue Knights consortium will be left as the last man standing.” 

Duff and Phelps last night announced Whyte had struck a deal with two groups, with one understood to be a group with experience of running clubs in the top two levels of English football. 

Joint administrator Paul Clark said: “We have continued discussions today with the parties remaining in the bidding process and good progress has been made. 

“We can also confirm that Craig Whyte has confirmed that he will transfer his shareholding in Rangers Football Club to two of the parties and has indicated he would not be an impediment to a sale of the club.

‘We will issue a further update for supporters and can say that every effort is being made to conclude the sale of the club as quickly as possible.” 

According to Duff and Phelps, three potential ownership groups emerged in the wake of Miller’s withdrawal to rival the Blue Knights, whose offer was conditional on acquiring Whyte’s 85 per cent shareholding.