LONDON (Alliance News) - Mike Ashley, founder and director of Sports Direct International PLC and owner of Newcastle United football club, Wednesday demanded that two directors of Rangers International Football Club PLC's board are removed, including Chief Executive Graham Wallace.
In a statement, Rangers said it had received a notice dated October 7 from Ashley that stated his investment vehicle MASH Holdings Ltd holds nearly 4.3 million Rangers shares, equating to 5% of the voting rights. MASH "requires" that Rangers call a shareholder meeting for a vote on the removal of Wallace and Executive Director Philip Nash, it added.
Rangers said it is checking whether MASH's demand for a shareholder meeting is valid, and if it is, it will try and have the demand withdrawn to avoid the cost and disruption of an ad hoc general meeting, particularly given its Annual General Meeting is set to be held in the near future.
"The board is united in its support of the executive team. If the notice is valid and is not withdrawn, the directors intend to recommend that shareholders vote against the proposed resolutions," it said in a statement.
Ashley's intentions towards Rangers remains unclear.
The Scottish Football Association has a rule that no individual can hold stakes in two football clubs, but compromised when Ashley was brought in as a Rangers shareholder by previous Chief Executive Charles Green, according to the BBC. However, the deal he struck with the Scottish FA limits him to no more than a 10% stake in the club.
There has been speculation that he could look to sell Newcastle United, but the BBC also reported him saying last month that he won't consider selling the English Premier League club until the end of next season at least, meaning summer 2016 at the earliest.
The BBC last week said it had learned that during negotiations to provide a loan to the club last month, which would have prevented the need for Rangers to raise new funds through an open offer, Ashley sought control of Rangers' trademark rights. This was declined by the directors, although a company called Rangers Retail Rights Ltd was incorporated on September 9, with Ashley among the three directors.
Scotland's most successful football club on the pitch is trying to draw a line under a tumultuous period in which it went into administration, was relegated from the top division, and faced a boardroom battle over the future direction of the company.
It went into administration under the weight of a large debt burden and as the tax man claimed back money it said was owed for a large number of years due to undisclosed payments made to players.
Rangers raised GBP3.13 million in its open offer last month, money it will muse to fund its rebuilding. It wants to raise between GBP20 million and GBP30 million in total as part of its efforts to return the club to "top of the domestic game within three seasons, and to thereafter be competitive in UEFA competition," meaning playing in European cup competitions.
Ashley admitted he didn't take part in the open offer, meaning his stake was diluted. However, last week, a disclosure to the London Stock Exchange revealed MASH Holdings bought nearly 4.3 million Rangers shares in a separate deal, more than doubling Ashley's stake to 8.92%. That makes him the third biggest shareholder in Rangers, according to data on Hemscott.
Rangers shares were up 2.3% at 22.50 pence early Wednesday.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1
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