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Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley increases his stake in Rangers

Image: Newcastle owner Mike Ashley ups his stake in Rangers

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has increased his stake in Rangers to around nine per cent, the Glasgow club have confirmed.

Ashley's MASH Holdings Ltd has been named as the purchaser of more than four million shares, which were sold by investment manager Hargreave Hale earlier this week.

Several updates to the London Stock Exchange show that Ashley transferred his existing shareholding to MASH Holdings, which he owns in its entirety, to give him a total stake of 8.92 per cent.

The Sports Direct founder emerged as the mystery buyer behind the purchase of a 5.23 per cent stake on Wednesday, which was completed on his behalf by Paris-based BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC.

According to share information on the Rangers International Football Club plc website, Ashley becomes the third-largest shareholder behind Laxey Partners (16.32 per cent) and Artemis (9.95 per cent), although football club director
Sandy Easdale holds voting rights of more than 26 per cent of the shares.

Ashley's move comes just weeks after he stated to the London Stock Exchange he would not take part in a share offer which was open to all existing shareholders of the Scottish Championship club.

The board had hoped to raise around £4m but fell almost £1m short, with around half of the new income quickly going out of Ibrox to repay loans.

Ashley bought his latest batch of shares for 20p each, the price at which they were on sale for in the open offer.

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