When 49ers Rangers takeover may happen as month pencilled in for £50m deal that have 'big plans' attached

A source close to negotiations between Rangers and the 49ers Enterprise group has confirmed that both parties are edging closer to completing talks ahead of a major Ibrox buyout.

News broke on Wednesday evening that the American NFL franchise have been locked in discussions with the Light Blues hierarchy over a groundbreaking takeover bid since the turn of the year, spearheaded by Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe.

Optimism is high that a new era is about to begin in Govan, despite the prospect of Rangers entering into a multi-club model with talks understood to have progressed in recent months and are set to continue until the end of the current season.

Now a potential timeframe has been laid out in relation to when the takeover could be completed, with disgruntled fans having demanded change at boardroom level for a number of years as they led calls for improvement in the way the club is being run.

With the US group and other investors now braced to take majority control and have the loudest voice at the top table, it means a number of high-profile Rangers shareholders will likely be heading for the exit door.

Speaking on talkSPORT, journalist Ben Jacobs, who has close connections to both parties, provided a fresh update on how talks are progressing as an agreement looms.

He revealed: “Talks between Rangers and a consortium including 49ers Enterprises are termed ‘advanced’, and there is something close to an agreement in principle for at least a majority takeover.

“There are other investors involved, so we don’t know the specific stake of 49ers Enterprises, but the expectation is a deal here is going to get done by April at the earliest and the summer at the latest.

“There are big plans for Rangers. The appeal in the club is of course the easy route into some form of European football – hopefully the Champions League – and maybe to further redevelop Ibrox as well.

“In excess of £50 million is likely to be what it costs – that is then inheriting the debt on top, so it’s a relatively large outlay. (The) club is valued well over £100m, so 50 per cent is going to be over £50m.”

In other news: Rangers + Leeds United could face 'top dog' 49ers issue as finance expert eyes 'significant' Celtic upper hand