RANGERS chairman Dave King faces a fresh courtroom battle after snubbing an order to buy out the club’s remaining shares.
The South Africa-based businessman was hit with a bill worth around £14million last month after a ruling by the Takeover Appeal Board (TAB).
But now TAB bosses say they have initiated proceedings against the Rangers chief in the Court of Session in Edinburgh after he failed to meet a deadline to make an offer to the remaining Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) shareholders.
King was found to have worked “in concert” with three other shareholders when he launched his Ibrox boardroom coup back in March 2015.
The former Mike Ashley-backed regime was forced from power when King joined with a group known as the Three Bears – wealthy fans Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor – to secure a stakeholding which combined equated to 34 per cent of the club’s total shares.
But TAB ruled they were acting as a “concert party” when they made their purchase, rather than as individuals.
And under takeover rules, King – as leader of that group – was obliged to make an offer to buy the rest of the shares in the RIFC holding company, with the price set at 20p a share.
King – who has been caught up in a series of bitter legal disputes with Sports Direct-tycoon Ashley since grabbing control of the club – criticised both the ruling and the share price valuation. But his decision to blank the TAB order will now lead to yet further court action.
A TAB statement said: “On 13 March 2017, the Takeover Appeal Board published its decision upholding rulings of the Takeover Panel Executive and of the Hearings Committee of the Takeover Panel that Mr David Cunningham King acted in concert with Messrs George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park to acquire more than 30 per cent of the voting rights in Rangers and in consequence had incurred an obligation under the Takeover Code to make a mandatory offer at a price of 20 pence per Rangers share for all of the Rangers shares not already held by Mr King and members of his concert party.
“The Takeover Appeal Board directed that Mr King should announce an offer pursuant to Rule 9 of the Takeover Code by 12 April 2017.
“No such offer having been announced, the Takeover Panel has today initiated proceedings in the Court of Session, Edinburgh under section 955 of the Companies Act 2006 seeking an order requiring Mr King to comply with these rulings.”
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