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| Walter Smith leads bid to buy Glasgow Rangers | Walter Smith leads bid to buy Glasgow Rangers |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Former Rangers manager Walter Smith has confirmed that he is leading a new bid to buy the club. | Former Rangers manager Walter Smith has confirmed that he is leading a new bid to buy the club. |
| Mr Smith said he would be assisted by Jim McColl, Douglas Park and "other prominent Scottish businessmen". | Mr Smith said he would be assisted by Jim McColl, Douglas Park and "other prominent Scottish businessmen". |
| BBC Scotland understands that the deal is worth £6m, which is half-a-million pound more than the current offer from Charles Green. | BBC Scotland understands that the deal is worth £6m, which is half-a-million pound more than the current offer from Charles Green. |
| Rangers faces liquidation after creditors refused a deal to allow it to emerge from administration. | Rangers faces liquidation after creditors refused a deal to allow it to emerge from administration. |
| In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Smith said: "I can today confirm that following talks over the last few weeks I am leading a new bid for Rangers Football Club. | In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Smith said: "I can today confirm that following talks over the last few weeks I am leading a new bid for Rangers Football Club. |
| "I have been assisted by Jim McColl, Douglas Park and other prominent Scottish businessmen with a shared objective - that Rangers Football Club should be in the hands of Rangers people who will stabilise the club and protect it from future situations like we find ourselves in today. | "I have been assisted by Jim McColl, Douglas Park and other prominent Scottish businessmen with a shared objective - that Rangers Football Club should be in the hands of Rangers people who will stabilise the club and protect it from future situations like we find ourselves in today. |
| "With this in mind, representatives have, on behalf of my group, made representations to BDO, Duff and Phelps and indeed Charles Green, notifying them of our willingness to offer on the "Newco" basis on which Mr Green is proceeding." | "With this in mind, representatives have, on behalf of my group, made representations to BDO, Duff and Phelps and indeed Charles Green, notifying them of our willingness to offer on the "Newco" basis on which Mr Green is proceeding." |
| Mr Smith said his group was now calling on the Green consortium to "step aside" and allow his group to proceed "in the best interests of the creditors, the employees, the fans and the various other stakeholders of Rangers Football Club". | Mr Smith said his group was now calling on the Green consortium to "step aside" and allow his group to proceed "in the best interests of the creditors, the employees, the fans and the various other stakeholders of Rangers Football Club". |
| He added: "None of our group has any desire to own Rangers Football Club but we have put this deal in place to save the club. | He added: "None of our group has any desire to own Rangers Football Club but we have put this deal in place to save the club. |
| "However, our overriding objective is to ensure that the stadium, the history and everything else magical about Rangers Football Club is protected and nurtured back to good health and provide a platform for Rangers for generations to come." | "However, our overriding objective is to ensure that the stadium, the history and everything else magical about Rangers Football Club is protected and nurtured back to good health and provide a platform for Rangers for generations to come." |
| The former Rangers manager, who also managed English premiership club Everton, made it clear that that the deal was "designed to stabilise the club and ensure history does not repeat itself". | |
| He said: "We are not in this to take money out of the club but more so to do whatever it takes in a turnaround plan to ensure within a few years the club can be passed on intact and to the right people. | He said: "We are not in this to take money out of the club but more so to do whatever it takes in a turnaround plan to ensure within a few years the club can be passed on intact and to the right people. |
| "The supporters should be under no illusion that it will be extremely hard but with their support we can overcome financial hardship that lies ahead by lending their support to what we feel is the correct way forward - for Rangers people who know the club inside and out to control its destiny. | "The supporters should be under no illusion that it will be extremely hard but with their support we can overcome financial hardship that lies ahead by lending their support to what we feel is the correct way forward - for Rangers people who know the club inside and out to control its destiny. |
| "The prominent Scottish businessmen involved have agreed to provide acquisition funding to allow myself and a management team to take on Rangers Football Club and make the business self-sufficient with long term sustainability being essential." | "The prominent Scottish businessmen involved have agreed to provide acquisition funding to allow myself and a management team to take on Rangers Football Club and make the business self-sufficient with long term sustainability being essential." |
| The Charles Green-led consortium had an agreement to buy the club's assets for £5.5m. | The Charles Green-led consortium had an agreement to buy the club's assets for £5.5m. |
| Voted down | |
| Mr Smith ended his statement by saying he hoped the new offer would be "fully supported by everyone in the Rangers Family", saying that "without them the club cannot and will not survive". | Mr Smith ended his statement by saying he hoped the new offer would be "fully supported by everyone in the Rangers Family", saying that "without them the club cannot and will not survive". |
| He added: "We therefore want to ensure honesty and transparency in everything we do. | He added: "We therefore want to ensure honesty and transparency in everything we do. |
| "We want to rebuild Rangers Football Club and in doing so return the institution to the standards it is known for." | "We want to rebuild Rangers Football Club and in doing so return the institution to the standards it is known for." |
| Rangers was forced into administration on 14 February by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over unpaid taxes of about £14m incurred during current owner Craig Whyte's tenure. | |
| The club was also being pursued for up to another £75m by the tax authority over its use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) to pay dozens of players over the past decade. | |
| The scale of debt claimed by HMRC allowed it to vote down a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which would have seen all creditors accept a pennies in the pound deal for what they were owed. | |
| The CVA, proposed by administrators Duff and Phelps and the Charles Green consortium, was formally voted down at a meeting at Ibrox on Thursday. | |
| Rangers will now be placed in the hands of joint liquidators from BDO, while Duff and Phelps plan to sell the assets to Mr Green and his backers for a previously agreed binding deal of £5.5m. | |
| BBC Scotland sport reporter Alasdair Lamont said the message from within Charles Green's camp was that the Smith-fronted group should talk to them and not the administrators or liquidators. | |
| He said that Green's investors were looking for a return on the money they had already spent on legal fees and due diligence. |