Yank Go Home! Miller Drops Rangers Bid (UPDATED: Whyte Will Sell)

((HT: SkySports.com))

Well, if this doesn't throw everything into a tizzy...

Bill Miller, the Tennessee towing magnate, released a statement that, in part, dropped the bombshell that he wasn't going to be pursuing Glasgow Rangers after all- especially after growing sentiment against it...

"Having no intention of negatively affecting the potential outcome of the club's future and after hearing the message from Rangers supporters and fans loud and clear ("Yank go home!"), I notified the administrators today that I have withdrawn my bid for Rangers and will not be moving forward."

Remember, administrators Duff and Phelps had labelled Miller's bid as the preferred bid over the local consortium bid of Brian Kennedy and the Blue Knights.

Here was the background on Miller and the Rangers deal, thanks to our friends at STVScotland...
And here's how Sky Sports looked at Miller's removal...
Here was part of how the mess started and Craig Whyte's dodging of the issues...
((HT: SkySports))


And here's the response from Duff and Phelps joint administrator David Whitehouse:

"We can confirm that Mr Bill Miller has decided not to complete his purchase of Rangers Football Club.

"Since Mr Miller was announced as preferred bidder on Thursday of last week, it is regrettable that more progress could not be made to further the sale of the Club.

"We have been informed by his advisors that there were a number of issues with which he felt uncomfortable including legacy contracts, the limitation of potential revenue streams and the expectation of required investment.

"As in any company takeover, the selection of a preferred bidder does not guarantee the completion of the sale. In this case, with time and money for Rangers running out quickly, it was essential to move the process forward with urgency. Mr Miller's bid was deliverable to creditors and was the only deliverable bid on the table at that time. We had no other unconditional bid.

"Given the fact that Mr Miller did not enter into an exclusivity agreement, we informed all other known potential bidders at the time the door was not closed.

"As a consequence of Mr Miller's bid being accepted, three other bidders have come forward to express their interest in buying the Club and these offers are being evaluated with the utmost urgency.

"There is every opportunity for these bidders to now complete the purchase of the Club prior to the end of the season."

So, now we're back to three bids- none of them preferred, and a team that runs out of money at the end of the month...

THURSDAY UPDATE: Craig Whyte has now announced that he will sell his controlling percentage of shares to two of the three groups now being considered by Duff and Phelps as a suitable new owner.

Apparently, one of the groups actually has experience dealing with clubs on the Premier League and Championship level and Whyte thinks their bid is the only credible one on the table. That group, apparently, talked with D&P two days ago.

Here was the Lap of Honour Rangers took after their home finale of the season...
((HT: SkySports/youtube))