Former chairman Dave King confident Rangers will be under new ownership by June | OneFootball

Dave King believes a lack of emotional attachment from Rangers’ impending new owners is a positive as he predicted their takeover will be completed in June.

The South Africa-based businessman and former Light Blues chairman is the club’s single largest shareholder with a 13 per cent stake.

Having been involved in negotiations with American businessman Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises since late 2024, King expects their bid to take control of Rangers to be finalised next month.

“If I take you to the position as I see it right now, I would say that there’s a 90 per cent probability it will happen,” he told Talksport on Wednesday.

“These discussions have been going on for a long time, about six months ago was the first time I chatted to Andrew to see if there was a basis of getting a deal done that would work for both parties.

“And while along the way with any negotiations like these, there were times where it was probably touch and go, if you ask me where we are now in terms of legals being signed, in terms of the type of conditions precedent that still has to be fulfilled, I would certainly put it at above 90 per cent right now.

King is enthused by the prospect of Rangers being run by people with no previous connection to the club, unlike the current board.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in discussions with them directly,” he said. “I asked them the question as well, when Paul Murray introduced them to me, ‘why Rangers? I get your interest in the 49ers, with expanding franchises. I see why football is a great business opportunity. But why are you interested in Rangers? It’s not fashionable, it’s Glasgow, it’s not London’.

“And I got all the right answers, that they understand the football business and they would be in Rangers for the long haul. And the other thing I liked about speaking to them is that, having been around the club for 25 years, David Murray and thereafter, I think there is a big disadvantage in clubs like Rangers, where the board and the decision-making is dominated by supporters.

“You get this absolute doom and gloom where you lose a game at the weekend, and there’s this ‘we need to do this’, ‘we need to do that’, ‘we need to sign players’, ‘we need to get rid of the manager’, and then you win a game and all of a sudden everyone is on top of the world.

“I think they’re going to be more calculated, more neutral, and I think their football plan and the financial plan that supports that will be far more robust, far more tangible, and will be able to ride through the bad times if there is a period of poor results.”

One of the most pressing matters for the incoming consortium is to appoint a permanent manager, with Barry Ferguson currently in interim charge.

King claimed he had no insight regarding the next steps regarding a new boss, but he did acknowledge they will need to move fast to have everything in place for next season.

“I’m not sure the extent to which they’re applying their mind to the manager situation right now,” he said.

“Let’s say that this deal realistically happens, say, mid-June – I think May will not be possible, but let’s say mid-June is realistic – and they’re firmly sitting in the seat, that doesn’t give them a lot of time to start to get some business done and prepare us for Champions League qualifiers.

“So I’m sure they’ll be looking at that. But as far as who the actual manager will be and who they’re looking at, I’ve got no idea whatsoever.”