Scottish Premiership side Rangers supporters "forked out" £1M ($1.3M) to rid their club of Mike Ashley and "become the second biggest shareholders at Ibrox," according to Gary Ralston of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. Fan group Club 1872 "bought half of the Sports Direct tycoon’s shareholding," with the other 50% "snapped up" by Julian Wolhardt, the CEO of a Hong Kong-based private equity firm. Ashley’s decision to sell his 8.92% shareholding in the club "comes hard on the heels of his decision to renegotiate his retail deal on more favourable terms" for the club. It is not known how much Ashley paid for each of his shares, purchased as "part of the original tranche of investment under Charles Green," but he sold them to Club 1872 and Woldhart for 27.5 pence. Wolhardt, 44, is a founder and CEO of Dehong Capital Partners, established earlier this year. He "spent the previous 10 years at KKR, another private equity firm and was also responsible for the China business at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia" (DAILY RECORD, 6/23). In Glasgow, Martin Williams reported the move sees Club 1872 become the second-largest shareholder in Rangers Int'l Football Club with 10.71% of the club. In a statement, Club 1872 said, "Club 1872's acquisition takes our shareholding in RIFC over 10%, a significant marker in our progress as a shareholder / investor in RIFC" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 6/23). The BBC reported the fans' group did not state the value of its investment in RIFC but club Chair Dave King said that Wolhardt and Club 1872 had "each made a £1m investment in shares." Wolhardt spoke of his "long held love for Scotland and football" and said that he was "keen to see Rangers FC unlock its considerable commercial potential" (BBC, 6/23).
