Rangers’ “largest sponsorship agreement” holders subject to £2.2bn takeover bid – report

Long-time Rangers partners Kindred, the parent company of 32Red,

have been the subject of a €2.6 billion (£2.22 billion) buyout proposal.

Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), a state-backed French lottery powerhouse,

is ready to make an extraordinary acquisition of the Stockholm-listed gaming business.

Kindred, the parent firm of prominent Rangers jersey sponsor 32Red,

will merge to form one of Europe’s largest gambling organizations. The group also owns Unibet.

According to the Financial Times, Kindred shareholders have “unanimously”

advised that the company’s stockholders accept the FDJ’s all-cash offer.

FDJ has a monopoly on French lottery services, with international revenues now sitting at 6%.

The acquisition of Kindred is expected to increase this to 20% as

the business expands into Scandinavian and Western markets.

As things stand, there is no indication of how this will affect Rangers,

if at all, but the team has a long-standing and excellent relationship with the Swedish gaming company.

Since 2014, 32Red and Unibet have been the Rangers’ title sponsors,

with Kindred signing the “largest sponsor agreement” in Ibrox history in 2021.

Rangers’ association with Kindred has previously been described as

“one of the longest running in British football” by the Ibrox club.

Kindred has been Rangers Football Club’s commercial partner for the past ten years,

Bisgrove: ‘We hope 32Red are here for many years to come’

Rangers referred to their last contract with 32Red as a “multi-year” collaboration,

and it appears that we are now in the third year.

As part of the arrangement, Kindred would continue to manage Team Talk,

a men’s mental health project that will even appear on the club’s Europa League Final jerseys in 2022.

The contract was arranged by James Bisgrove, the club’s Commercial and Marketing Director at the time,

and the Englishman has since been appointed to Ibrox CEO.

Speaking two and a half years ago, Bisgrove clearly valued Kindred as a sponsor,

and we wonder if the FDJ merger will affect that.

“I am delighted that the club and 32Red have agreed to extend the partnership,

which is excellent news for the continued commercial growth of the club and represents

the largest sponsorship agreements in our 150-year history,” Bisgrove said in a statement.

“For many years, 32Red has backed our club on its march back to

the peak of Scottish football and our historic 55th league triumph.

“They’ve been a part of our journey both on and off the field,

and we appreciate their tremendous support.

They are long-term partners and we intend to continue the successful,

winning relationship for many years to come.”

Kindred – who are one of Europe’s top-five betting providers,

are aiming for commercial revenues of £250m for the financial year of 2024.

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