Glasgow: The owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball side, Robert Sarver, has increased his takeover bid for Rangers Football Club to £20 million (Dh1.1 billion) and offered the troubled club a £6.5m emergency loan to help keep it in business.
The US businessman had an £18m offer rejected on Tuesday despite the Ibrox board facing a cash crisis that threatened the club’s very existence.
But Sarver is now sweetening his offer by saying he is willing to provide money to pay off loans already taken out in recent weeks if the club accepts his new revised bid.
He further indicated he would be willing to continue working with former director Dave King and the Three Bears — wealthy businessmen fans Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor — who have both bought significant stakes in the past week.
In a statement given to the Stock Exchange, the 53-year-old Sarver said: “This revised proposal hopefully helps the board deal with its short-term cashflow crunch and also addresses my desire to see the club on a solid long-term financial footing.
“It would also enable Rangers to repay the loans from Mike Ashley and Sandy Easdale, and free it of debt.
“I know, of course, that there are various groups of prominent fans who have been working hard for a long time to bring change to the club and they can rest assured that, if my proposal is accepted, I am committed to building a strong partnership with fans and key stakeholders to do what is best for the club.
“I look forward to receiving the response of the Rangers board.”
On Tuesday, the Rangers board said that Sarver’s offer for a controlling stake of the club did not “adequately value a controlling interest in the Company”.
However, Rangers’ directors urged Sarver to work with other backers to help find a solution to the Glasgow giants’ financial difficulties.
Sarver’s intital approach followed a week of intrigue at boardroom level, as Rangers attempt to recoup £8.3 million of losses in order to stay afloat.
The Glasgow club are currently without a permanent manager after Ally McCoist resigned last month.
The 54-time Scottish champions were relegated to the fourth tier of Scottish football in 2012 after going into administration.
They are currently in second place in the second-tier Championship, 13 points behind leaders Hearts.
