Sport - Ranson withdraws Man City offer
Your reaction to this news Ray Ranson has withdrawn his bid to buy Manchester City.
The 46-year-old former City player made a revised proposal to the club’s board with a view to a takeover bid in April.
But a statement to the Stock Exchange said: “Ray has been unable to reach with the board and withdraws from talks relating to a possible bid.”
However, Ranson has reserved the right to renew his interest in the future should former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin make a formal offer.
Ranson’s revised offer for the City of Manchester Stadium club came after a first bid believed to be worth 90m.
At the time, a City statement said: “Ray Ranson’s indicative proposals contain a number of material conditions that the board do not believe can be .”
It was reported that Ranson’s 90m offer included the repayment of 20m in loans owed to chairman John Wardle and David Makin, plus a summer transfer kitty of 20m.
However, City insisted no such deal had been suggested.
Ranson then released a statement to the Stock Exchange in which he indicated that he was making a further proposal to the board of the club, also revealing that he had not received a positive response from the Man City board.
And it now appears that after spending six months seeking to discuss an offer with the club board without success, Ranson has cooled his interest.
However, Ranson may decide to renew his interest should Shinawatra, who failed in a bid for Liverpool in 2004, make an offer to buy City.
The Premiership club has also been linked with a buy-out from American investors.
Ranson made his multi-million pound fortune from insurance and from football finance and has also invested in football analysis company Prozone.
He made two bids for Aston Villa before the Midlands club were bought by American billionaire Randy Lerner.