Rangers supremo King breached rules in Rangers takeover swoop

Mr King, who settled a £44 million bill with South African tax authorities after pleading guilty to 41 counts of contravening income tax legislation in the country prior to his takeover at the Glasgow club, became chairman at Ibrox following a boardroom battle with sportswear retail tycoon Mike Ashley.

But a ruling announced on Monday by the City of London’s Takeover Appeal Board stated that he had breached the City Code on takeovers and mergers by “acting in concert” with George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park (known as the ‘Three Bears’) in acquiring a stake equalling more than 30 per cent of the total shareholding in Rangers International Football Club PLC.

In its ruling, the watchdog found Mr King had coordinated the purchasing of the share block with the ‘Three Bears’ in a move that should have triggered him to extend the 20p per share offer to other shareholders.

The appeal board said the evidence of Mr King and Mr Letham acting in concert was “overwhelming” as an email chain between the pair, coupled with their involvement in two previous buyout attempts together, backed up the accusations.

Mr King, who was the subject of a restraint order in Scotland before it was lifted in November 2012 as a result of his tax issues in South Africa, had appealed against the initial findings of the takeover panel last year, arguing he was separate from New Oasis Asset Limited, a British Virgin Islands company which acquired his 14.5 per cent shareholding in Rangers from institutional investors in 2015.

Monday’s ruling means he will now have to offer 20p per share to other shareholders.

The City regulatory body concluded: “Over the last two years Mr King has had ample opportunity to disclose documents and to provide other evidence to rebut any deeming, presumption or inference from the evidence that he was acting in concert with Messrs Letham, Taylor and Park. He has not done so.”

The appeal board found New Oasis was ultimately owned by Mr King for “the benefit of himself and members of his family” through a Guernsey-based trust.

The appeal board noted: “We have reached the conclusion, having regard to the grounds and basis of the appeal and taking account of all the evidential materials placed before the board, that Mr King was acting in concert with Messrs Letham, Taylor and Park in the acquisition of the shares in Rangers on December 31, 2014, and January, 2, 2015. On the ‘acting in concert’ point we uphold the findings and ruling of the committee.”

The takeover appeal board also criticised the businessman for a “lack of cooperation” in its investigation.

Responding to the watchdog’s decision, Mr King said the complaint against him had been made by former chairman David Somers in the old board’s “efforts to preserve their positions without regard to what was best for Rangers Football Club, its supporters and shareholders”.

He added: “It is my belief that the takeover appeal board has not understood the true nature of what occurred at Rangers and the tremendous role that the activism of supporters played in ensuring regime change.

“I am only one of a vast number of Rangers supporters and shareholders who fought to rescue our club. The Rangers Football Club should never have become caught up in a takeover struggle. Those who placed it in that position bear a heavy responsibility.”

The 61-year-old did not “follow the logic” of the City body and said if he was to offer 20p per share to all shareholders just now, it would be “rejected by the overwhelming majority”.