Scottish Championship side Rangers "are to launch a new share issue" in a bid to raise in the region of £8M ($13M), according to the BBC. The new issue will "take place before the end of August." Rangers Chair Graham Wallace recently said the Ibrox club was "in a good place" financially. A minimum of £7M ($11.8M) "is needed to cover a cash shortfall at the newly-promoted Scottish Championship outfit." Major shareholders Laxey Partners and Rangers Chair Sandy Easdale "have both indicated they will buy more shares" (BBC, 6/11). In Glasgow, Keith Jackson reported Rangers’ "beleaguered directors are in urgent need of a cash injection after failing to win over thousands of hostile fans, who have refused to renew season tickets." The short-fall means Rangers "must raise funds immediately to avoid being sucked back into a perilous financial position, just two years after the insolvency nightmare that ended in the liquidation of the oldco." Easdale spent Monday "holed up in crunch talks with mysterious shareholders Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings, both of whom may now be gearing up to increase their holding in the club." The majority of the club’s blue chip institutional shareholders "are unlikely to be tempted to pour more cash into a club that has suffered horrendous losses" since raising £22M of investment at an IPO 18 months ago. The share price "has also crashed over that time, wiping millions off the club’s value" (DAILY RECORD, 6/11).
