An investment consortium led by US businessman Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises investment group has acquired a majority stake in Scottish soccer giants Rangers.
Through a new company, Rangers FC LLC, the consortium has taken a 51% stake in the club, with Cavenagh to serve as Rangers chair going forward, while 49ers Enterprises president Paraag Marathe steps in as vice chair.
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An initial cash injection of £20 million ($26.9 million) will be provided to the club for use both behind the scenes and on player transfers, pre-empting further investment down the road.
To facilitate this, Dave King, the club’s largest shareholder before the takeover (12.96%), has been bought out in his entirety, as has former chair John Bennett (7.11%), along with two others, one of which is likely Julian Wolhardt (6.69%).
Douglas Park, George Taylor, and Stuart Gibson remain as three major (over 5% each) shareholders of the club outside of the consortium, while board member John Halsted (reportedly a driving force behind the purchase) also holds shares via the minority stake owned by Perron Investments.
Halsted will remain on the Rangers board, as will interim chair Fraser Thornton, non-executive director George Taylor, and chief executive Patrick Stewart, who joined the club in November.
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By GlobalDataOther members of the investment consortium that have joined the board include US real estate mogul Eugene Schneur, health insurance industry executive Andrew Clayton, and investment firm director Mark Taber of Great Hill Partners.
Meanwhile, Graeme Park (son of Douglas Park), Julian Wolhardt, and Alastair Johnston all depart the board.
Rangers are historically the most successful side in the Scottish top-flight, winning the league a record 55 times, but since that most recent triumph in 2021, success has been few and far between, a factor which has led to fan unrest, particularly in regard to the current ownership.
It has long been known that Rangers’ shareholders up until this point had become fatigued with the financial demands of running the club (In February, the team issued a further £18 million in shares).
In a joint letter speaking on the takeover, Cavenagh, an insurance and healthcare executive, and Marathe stated: “Simply put – our goal is to win trophies in Scotland and be able to compete at a high level in Europe, while laying a foundation of financial sustainability for the future.
“While we recognise the importance of resources, we believe that thoughtful, disciplined investment, guided by a clear strategy, is the path to enduring success. Every decision, whether sporting or business, will be made with the club’s long-term success and sustainability in mind.”
The pair also added that they aim to “leverage the full strength of 49ers Enterprises’ sporting expertise and operational experience.”
This deal expands the reach of 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise, which also owns English Premier League soccer side Leeds United.
As Marathe is Leeds United's chair, and Scottish soccer’s SFA governing body has rules in place preventing the purchase of more than 25% of any club by someone who owns another soccer side, the consortium has been headed up by Cavenagh.
Marathe, a 24-year veteran with the 49ers, also serves as the franchise’s executive vice president of football operations and is the team’s chief contract negotiator and the leader of its analytics department.
Cavenagh, meanwhile, is the executive chair of captive health insurance firm ParetoHealth, a multi-billion dollar asset manager, having previously worked as a commercial banker and insurance broker.
The takeover will be formally confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting on June 23.
Recently, the 49ers sold a 6.2% stake in the franchise to three investor groups at an $8.5 billion valuation – the highest ever for a sports team.
Based on the valuation, the price paid by the three new investors was $533.2 million.
Billionaire Vinod Khosla has bought the largest stake, while the families of Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and Will Griffith, founding partner at Iconiq Growth, have also joined the ownership group.
Jed York, who also leads 49ers Enterprises, and his family still own 91% of the 49ers after first acquiring the team in 1977 for $13 million.
