Who is the other half of Paraag Marathe Rangers takeover?

Rangers‘ takeover deal has hit a major breakthrough this week, with 49ers Enterprises President Paraag Marathe and former banker Andrew Cavenagh agreeing a deal to acquire at least 51 per cent of the shares at Ibrox.

Rangers make takeover breakthrough

The sacking of Philippe Clement was a big moment in the Gers‘ recent history, and amid the Belgian’s struggles as manager, there has also been constant speculation off the pitch over 49ers Enterprises buying the club.

Now, a huge update from Sky Sports has claimed that the takeover of Rangers has been “agreed in principle”, heralding a new era at Ibrox in the process. There is a “growing confidence on all sides that it will be completed ahead of the new season”, which has the potential to create a far better feel-good atmosphere after a damaging defeat to Motherwell at the weekend.

This has been a season to forget so far for the Gers, even though they are still in the Europa League, with some patchy form throughout the campaign allowing Celtic to build a 16-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

The hope is that this takeover can be agreed as soon as possible, giving Barry Ferguson and his players an extra spring in their step, not to mention the fans.

Who is Andrew Cavenagh?

One relatively unknown figure until now who is heavily involved in the takeover is Andrew Cavenegh, with the health insurance magnate “leading” the bid along with the 49ers’ Marathe, who is a more publicised name due to his involvement at Leeds United.

It is thought that Cavenegh’s “involvement at Ibrox could be key in ensuring Scottish FA dual ownership rules are not a barrier”, as Marathe and the 49ers are limited to just a 29.9 per cent stake in the club because of their current involvement at Elland Road.

Cavenagh, a former banker, is the co-founder and former CEO of US based company ParetoHealth, with the report adding that they manage around £5.2bn in assets and “cover more than one million lives” in the States. ParetoHealth provides midsize companies (50–1,000 employees) with affordable healthcare benefits which “traditional insurance has failed” to do.

His role as CEO came to an end last month, seemingly in order to focus on this takeover of Rangers, having congratulated his replacement on taking up the job on LinkedIn

He revealed he will be stepping down to a lesser role as Executive Chairman from March onwards: “I will be serving as Executive Chairman and will work closely with Maeve on strategy and will stay closely engaged with our community. I am excited to dream big with Maeve and the best is yet to come.”

Educated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania between 1988 and 1992, Cavenagh has enjoyed executive roles at Berkley Risk and Berkley Accident & Health prior to eventually kick-starting ParetoHealth as CEO in 2019.

The American is a high-powered businessman who has dealt with pressurised situations in banking and insurance throughout his career, meaning Rangers are hopefully in good hands as they look to strike a deal with majority shareholder Dave King and others.

All Gers supporters want is for an end to this saga, allowing the club to kick on to bigger and better things in the coming years, become the powerhouse of Scottish football again.

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While there is clearly a huge amount of work to do in that respect, from bringing in the right long-term manager to providing more funds for new signings, the hope is that the influence of Cavenagh and others will aid Rangers greatly.