Singapore tycoon scraps Rangers bid

Posted Friday, April 20, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Singapore tycoon Bill Ng Friday scrapped his £20 million ($31.7 million) offer for crisis-hit Scottish football club Glasgow Rangers in frustration at the bidding process -- but said he may relaunch it if no other buyer is found.

Ng said "unwarranted" delays and concerns over whether shares could be delivered had prompted his move, and he also hit out at administrators Duff and Phelps, who are overseeing the sale of the bankrupt Scottish giants.

"Recent developments in the bidding process, with unwarranted and unexplained delays, have prompted our withdrawal from the bidding process," Ng said in a blunt statement.

"After lengthy negotiations with a number of key stakeholders, we have serious concerns over the deliverability of the shares on offer to gain control of the club."

Ng said his consortium had become "increasingly uncomfortable and frustrated" with dealing with the administrators, and "noted the ever increasing uncertainties and complexities in the bidding process".

"(The) situation has made the bidding process untenable and with great uncertainties," he said.

However Ng, the director of a private equity firm who says he has supported Rangers since his youth, also said he may renew his bid if the administrators fail to reach an agreement with other buyers.

"We reiterate that our belief in Rangers as a club has not wavered," he said.

American businessman Bill Miller remains in the running for the 140-year-old club, along with Brian Kennedy, owner of England's Sale rugby club.

Miller issued a statement on Friday outlining a proposal to create an "incubator" company for £11.2 million while Rangers' administrators Duff and Phelps attempted to broker a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

"In order to preserve the club's history, records, championships and assets, I will put the heart of the club into an 'incubator' company while Duff and Phelps works to make the sick patient healthy through a CVA process that effectively works to radiate the toxicity of past administrations' sins out of the patient while the healthy heart is preserved and moves forward," he said.

Administrators were called in to Rangers after British tax authorities went to court to seek payment of an unpaid bill of £9 million built up since Craig Whyte took charge last May.

That meant Rangers were docked 10 points -- a move that effectively handed the Scottish Premier League title to arch-rivals Celtic. Administrators also released a report saying Rangers' total debt could amount to £134 million.

Ng's withdrawal is the latest twist in a bitter and complex wrangle that has engulfed the club since its financial collapse came to light.

"Based on the constant uncertainties surrounding this great club and the complexities of the bid, we would now say that, we are only able to continue as Rangers' supporters in the Far East," said Ng.

It was the second time investors from wealthy Singapore have tried to buy a British club. In 2010, Singapore billionaire and well-known Manchester United fan Peter Lim made an unsuccessful £320 million offer for Liverpool.