While legacy media outlets whip up Takeover Fever the reality is that shares in Rangers International are trading at 3.5p.
It is certainly a buyers market, a number of smaller ‘investors’ are being taken in by coverage of a takeover and offering to sell their shares. Buyers are thin on the ground.
There are currently 487,498,288 shares in the company which includes three separate issues since the start of December where loans have been converted into shares.
A nominal value of 20p has been assigned to the recent issues, on December 18, February 18 and March 10 which replaced £15.2m needed to meet outgoings through the winter months.
During the January transfer window no money was paid out on transfer fees.
Based on the value given to the recent share issues the club is valued at £97.5m, on the real market with shares being sold at 3.5p the value shrinks to £17m.
For that you inherit losses for the current season that are expected to be in the region of £25-30m plus £22m of interest bearing loans to Douglas Park and John Bennett. Plus long term contracts for Jack Butland, Danilo, Jose Cifuentes, Ridvan Yilmaz and the incoming £3.5m transfer of Oscar Cortes.
On March 3, two days after losing at home to Motherwell Sky Sports News announced that agreement had been made in principle to buy 51% of the shares in the company with due diligence underway.
All of the other legacy media outlets parroted that exciting development, no one explained the mechanics of buying out the five leading shareholders or the price being paid.
Only a complete novice would believe that Douglas Park will be part of a deal that includes Dave King, each of those five shareholding groups will be angling to get more than any of the other sellers.
It is far more comforting to speculate over whether Steven Gerrard, Barry Ferguson or Jose Mourinho will be the manager.
The Cerny factor
The speculation went off at a tangent this week when Keith Jackson introduced introduced the Vaclav Cerny buy-out clause.
With absolutely no sign of progress on the deal, which was at an advanced stage when Jackson broke the story on February 19, pressure had to be applied to the current regime.
Jackson’s source revealed that there is a £5.5m option to sign Cerny which expires at some stage in May.
Effectively if the Cerny transfer isn’t completed it is all the fault of the big bad current regime, if only they had sold out to the 49ers all would have been happy and glorious with the Czech winger all signed up and sealed.
Six weeks on virtually nothing has moved, clearly the takeover wasn’t at the advanced stage that it was introduced as.
The sellers aren’t known, who is buying and taking over also isn’t known. It started off as the San Francisco 49ers, quickly switched to Leeds United owners the 49ers Enterprises and then onto Andrew Cavenagh.
Tyre-kicker
Despite taking in hospitality at a few matches Cavenagh has said nothing beyond a 10 second pavement interview with Sky Sports News following the home match with Fenerbahce.
Beyond Dave King desperately trying to sell off his shares it seems that nothing is happening.
Expectations have been built up, maintaining the story through into the Season Ticket Renewal campaign could be a stretch.
At some stage ‘takeover fatigue’ will kick in, the real share issue will emerge with the troubles of club unchanged as they face a summer of transfer austerity while trying to spin it all as a Revolution that will stop Celtic from claiming #title56.
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Rodgers bails out AWOL Michael Nicholson
Brendan Rodgers was forced into the spotlight to discuss not footballing issues with Michael Nicholson once again posted missing.
Multiple issues were thrown up around the Glasgow Derby on March 16, the events on the pitch are very much the responsibility of the Celtic manager but what goes on in the stands and touchline are nothing to do with the Rodgers.
Celtic’s slow start, dodgy passing, failed tactics and general nervousness all falls on the manager but if an opposition player chooses to spray Celtic fans with the content of a water bottle it is outwith the remit of the gaffer. Normally.
A day after the match Celtic issued a half-hearted and nameless holding statement, after Rodgers spoke today an expanded statement was issued saying just as little.
Today’s statement referred solely to events away from the stadium, an email address for a third party was provided as a measure of supporter engagement. A little more effort will be used on the upcoming Season Ticket Renewal campaign.
Last summer Celtic launched a Fan Survey, the closing date to complete it was July 26, the results have still to see the light of day.
Twelve days after Celtic fans were attacked by Vaclav Cerny and the contents of his water bottle there has been no comment or action from the football authorities or Police Scotland.
Other than among Celtic fans it is as if the incident never took place.
After celebrating the addition of 2,400 fans, that recently brought their club sanctions for their racist activities, Nicholson headed to New York for a Celtic charity event, perhaps he was doubling up with work to bring in the striker that Rodgers was promised in January when Kyogo Furuhashi was sold.
At 8 minutes the discussion turns to the Cerny incident.
Celtic issued a 416 word statement soon after Rodgers’ media conference which offered an email address to fans concerned by events outwith the stadium before the Derby match.
With a CEO, numerous heads of Departments and a Supporters Liaison Officer the events on London Road on ahead of the fixture should be very well established. There has been plenty of time to look into it, the club SLO was on the scene, he hasn’t tweeted since the evening of the match/kettling.
Typical of the current leadership, the club ‘statement’ wasn’t shared on social media, even in their Ivory Tower they know how the reaction to the latest deflection exercise.
After Barry Ferguson excused Cerny’s actions Rodgers was asked if he would have reacted differently if one of his players had acted that way.
Yes, I would. Where’s the respect in that? I think it’s a lack of respect if a player is running up a touchline and he squirts a waterbottle in supporters’ faces.
I certainly wouldn’t want my players to do it. In the main, in the games I’ve been involved in, the players do behave in a certain manner.
It works both ways. There’s a lot that comes from the stands to coaches, managers and players.
I think we all know there is a line that we shouldn’t cross. It is a very emotive game and it is an amazing fixture. It was great to have the fans back in, I thought they added that bit extra as well.
You can’t antagonise, though, as in this fixture in particular that can lead to issues.
With no comment or action taken after Alan Muir denied Celtic a goal away to Hibs last month for no reason it seems that Nicholson’s To Do list is ever growing.
At some stage he will have to look at the contract of the manager, or that issue may be as much of a priority as the findings of the 2024 Fan Survey.
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