Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh is reportedly looking to sell one of his major businesses in an eye-watering £4.5billion deal, according to reports in the US.
The Ibrox chairman, who joined forces with San Francisco 49ers Enterprises to take over Rangers, has a reported personal net worth of around £300m, largely tied to his investments in the US health insurance industry.
ParetoHealth up for sale
He is the co-founder and chairman of ParetoHealth, the billion-dollar enterprise which he co-founded with fellow Rangers board member Andrew Clayton. Reports in the US claim that corporation is going up for sale, with the firm valued at around $6bn (£4.5bn).
According to 9fin, Cavenagh and Co. are looking to sell up, with talks underway involving investment banking giants JP Morgan. Private equity investors Great Hill Partners, whose managing director Mark Taber is also on the Rangers board, are helping facilitate the sale.
Potential impact on Rangers
It is as yet unclear who the buyer will be, but it would represent a seismic shift for three men who have been heavily invested at Rangers since the 49ers-backed takeover last summer. The move would boost Cavenagh's already eye-watering net worth astronomically and could potentially free up funds for his other enterprises – including Rangers.
Speaking during the summer, the business tycoon was adamant his involvement with Rangers was going nowhere – and he has since backed that by spearheading a significant £35m investment in the transfer market this summer.
He said: "This club gets into you at the molecular level. And, once it's done, you're done. It's happened to me and a bunch of us. I don't ever want the use the words 'enjoy' or 'fun' because you can't have a season like we've had and use those words.
"But the challenge is something I relish and Paraag [Marathe, the fellow American who came in as part of the San Francisco 49ers Enterprise consortium last summer and who was vice-chairman for a spell] relishes with the rest of us."
The disappointment this year is very real for us, but all it's done is provide motivation for us going forward. My conversations with our supporters, I've really come to enjoy. Someone told me I should get to know them on a one-by-one basis. At Falkirk, that probably wasn't the right medium to do that.
"But whether it's in the stands or the streets, we all share certain things like the ambition to win and the understanding that we're not good enough. The common goal is the same so there's common ground in those conversations even if there are disagreements over methods."
