Rangers are on the verge of a “cheap” takeover by Paraag Marathe of the 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh, Dan Plumley has said.
News of a consortium including 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, being in advanced talks over buying Rangers emerged last month, with Leeds United chairman Marathe heavily involved in negotiations.
The takeover has quickly gained pace as Sky Sports shared earlier this week that there is an agreement in principle for the deal to go through at Ibrox, pending due diligence and completion of paperwork.
Marathe and Cavenagh set for shrews business at Ibrox
However, there has not been clarity about the takeover valuation that would see the consortium, including Cavenagh of ParetoHealth, acquire a 51 per cent stake at Ibrox.
Providing insight into the possible finances, Plumley has speculated the complete valuation of Rangers to be at least £150million, meaning the proposed deal would cost the new owners around £75m by that estimate.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, the football finance expert said: “It’s not an exact science, but if you look at Rangers and the situation in Scottish football, they’re turning over £80m in a really good year with European runs, and then the additional value that you could generate, I think a feasible figure of £150m, you could get to that number pretty easily on a valuation for sure.”
Delving further into the details, Plumley explained that Marathe and Cavenagh would view the takeover as a “cheap” acquisition with high benefits, particularly when compared to investing in the Premier League.
He said: “If you look at the people that we’re talking about, and them being the ones that seem to be the ones that will [buy the club] – they have this deal in principle or are likely to do it – I think for them they’ll see it as a relatively cheap acquisition.
“And we’ve said this more generally about American owners with European football as an example. It’s a cheaper acquisition price and that’s not to take anything away from the value of Rangers Football Club.
“But if you look at the Scottish League versus the English league, the price to get in is ultimately going to be cheaper, but the benefits, as we know, with a Rangers or a Celtic in that league are quite high.
Rangers set for new era
“So, I think that’s the way they’ll be positioning this. I think it’ll be, for them, considered a strong investment that’s relatively cheap to them at acquisition for the percentages that we’re talking about, and then it’s how you can kick on and leverage some of that.
“Personally, I think it’s a shrewd bit of business. If they can get the deal done, I can see the potential and the tie-up, but we’ll be talking in the hundreds of millions and that’ll be the kind of ballpark figure for a takeover and then any investment on top as well.”
As the proposed takeover nears completion, Rangers fans will be hopeful that the new owners will spark a new era at Ibrox that would enable them to compete with Celtic every season on and off the pitch.
If all goes to plan, the consortium will be in power in Govan in time for next season.
