More Duff and Phelps Analysis – Confusion Reigns – Guest Post by Den

Den has been kind enough to review an article from last night with some scintillating quotes from Duff & Phelps. If a week is a long time in politics, 24 hours is a lifetime in the affairs of Rangers.

However, other matters need to be attended to before I offer my thoughts on the Judicial Panel report (all 63 pages of it).

For now, Den will take you back to the long lost days when everything looked positive for Rangers and the Blue Knights were still in the game…ie yestyerday!

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I was taken by this piece last night.

 

Former Rangers manager Graeme Souness says he has not been contacted about being part of a takeover bid for the club – and that he is not interested.

With all the disinformation we have been fed I expect to see Graeme outside Ibrox being applauded by the fans before the end of the season. I expect that the season will last beyond Sunday, possible into next season.

The Blue Knights and Duff & Phelps – Guest Post by Den

In the aftermath of the decision to appoint Mr Miller as preferred bidder for Rangers, the Blue Knights via Mr Murray sought to get their views into the media. A statement came from Blue Knights HQ. To say the least the Knights and D&P no longer see eye to eye.

Den was good enough to do some analysis of the BBC report of the matter, and his post commences below,

Den, it’s all yours!

Some Quick Questions for Bill Miller, Duff & Phelps, the SFA and the SPL

As the heading says – a few quick questions.

Mr Miller plans to acquire the assets of Rangers – does this mean everything, including Ibrox, Murray Park, players, rights to income (ie SPL prize money) and “goodwill” (ie history)?

Is his offer a flat payment of £11.2 million, with no extra sums derived from future income to go to creditors?

Therefore, is it fair to say he has valued the assets and business of Rangers, debt free, at £11.2 million?

Do D&P believe that there is no way that a higher sum can be achieved in the INTEREST OF THE CREDITORS (Carthago delenda est) by a fire sale of players then liquidation?

Rangers FC and HBOS – Some Interesting Parallels – and some Questions for the Blue Knights

To quote from his website:- Ian Fraser is an award-winning journalist, commentator and broadcaster who writes about business, finance, politics and economics. His work has been published by among others The Sunday Times, The Economist, Financial Times,  BBC News, Thomson Reuters, Dow Jones, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Independent on Sunday, the Herald, Sunday Herald, The Scotsman, Accountancy, CA Magazine and CityWire.

In 2008, and then updated in 2010, Mr Fraser wrote an article chronicling the hubris which brought the Bank of Scotland/Halifax to the crash which lead to the, by then, Lloyds Banking Group being “rescued” by the British Government.

Mr Fraser’s article can be found here and I heartily commend it to one and all.

HBOS was of course the banker for Rangers Football Club PLC, and for Murray International Holdings and the rest of Sir David Murray’s companies.

I hope Mr Fraser does not mind me quoting the introduction to his piece at length:-

“Lessons must be learnt from the short and calamitous history of HBOS, the bank which went effectively failed in September 2008.

“At best, there were some appalling corporate governance failures at … HBOS, with an obsession with growth taking precedence over risk management and prudent banking practice soon after … September 2001.

“At worst, the bank was dangerously out-of-control and probably also fraudulent, having been pump-primed by its management team to deliver maximum short-term profits growth (and maximum rewards for executives), irrespective of whether the bank had a chance of surviving long term — or whether customers were harmed.

“Throughout the bank’s calamitous seven-year life, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and other authorities for the most part turned a blind eye to the bank’s blatant wrongdoing and recklessness. This applied in spades after Chancellor Gordon Brown appointed James Crosby a director of the FSA while he remained chief executive of the bank, in January 2004. After that, any attempt to properly regulate HBOS seems to have been abandoned, with dire consequences for many of the bank’s customers, Lloyds shareholders, and the British taxpayer.”

What Happens If D&P “Overturn” Craig Whyte’s Purchase of Rangers?

Events at Ibrox seem to picking up pace.

As we know there has to be a proposal made by D&P to creditors telling them how the goals of administration are to be achieved. This needs to happen by April 10^th.

It seems that a creditors’ meeting will take place at Ibrox on 20^th April.

Paul Murray’s Blue Knights seem to have reached an agreement with Ticketus, whilst Mr Murray is upset at D&P suggesting liquidation.

Mr Murray, or his cheerleaders, seem unhappy that D&P did not start moving to void Mr Whyte’s purchase of Rangers straight away on taking up office.

Let’s imagine for a minute that there are grounds for doing so, which seems highly debatable.

As Phil Mac Giolla Bhain has said, it is not the MO of businessmen like Mr Whyte to commit crimes. It would take a crime to render the transaction void.

If there are allegations that Mr Whyte misled the seller, then the sale would be voidable. It would require a court to determine this. As we saw with Martin Bain’s case, a straight forward legal dispute which was raised in court last summer was scheduled for a full hearing this summer.

The issues in an attempt to reduce Mr Whyte’s purchase would be far more technical and subject to legal debate. On year, two years or more would be needed, especially looking at the possibility, or indeed certainty, of appeals.

But even if that all happened successfully, then Rangers Football Club PLC would now be owned, again, by MIH. Suddenly Sir David Murray, or more precisely the banks which effectively control MIH, would have control.

Would they be prepared to give up Rangers for nothing? (Which is really what any group buying the company, rather than the assets, would be looking to do).

Suddenly a Rangers without the bank debt and with Ticketus onside, and with only the Big Tax Case to come, might seem, at least as per the statements by the Blue Knights, to be an entity which someone might be willing to pay money for.

If we think that the situation now is complicated, can you imagine the clamour that would ensue if Rangers reverted back to Sir David Murray’s nominal control, and MIH told the Blue Knights that they would have to pay for the 85% shareholding?