By Neil Maidment
LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish soccer club Rangers (L:RFC) said on Tuesday it had struck a deal with Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (L:SPD) for a 10 million pound ($15 million) credit facility, giving the stricken former champions time to find permanent investment.
Rangers, which needed funding to survive beyond the end of January, said the 10 million pounds would be used in part to pay off a previous loan from Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct and owner of English Premier League club Newcastle United.
The agreement is secured against the club's assets but not its Ibrox stadium in Glasgow, something Rangers had considered, much to the anger of its fans.
As part of the deal a 26 percent stake in Rangers' retail business -- a joint venture with Sports Direct -- will be given to the sporting goods retailer. The stake will be transferred back to Rangers when the facility is repaid, the club said.
Five million pounds of the interest free loan is available immediately, Rangers said. A further 5 million pounds can be drawn upon if needed and after due diligence from Sports Direct, Britain's largest sporting goods retailer.
Rangers, now playing in the Scottish second tier, said its financial situation had been "perilous", made worse by tumbling matchday attendances, but that it could now focus on investing in its squad and returning to profit.
The 54-times Scottish champions, who reformed as a fourth-tier club in 2012 after being wound up, rejected two takeover proposals from American financier Robert Sarver this year and have endured criticism from fans for its dealing with Ashley.
Ashley personally owns around nine percent of Rangers and saw efforts to increase his stake to 29.2 percent blocked in December by the Scottish Football Association (SFA).
Tuesday's deal through Sports Direct, which will also see the retailer benefit from any shirt sponsorship deals from the 2017/18 season for the duration of the credit facility, will increase Ashley's influence at the Glasgow side without raising his own stake in the club.
An SFA inquiry into alleged breaches of dual ownership rules is due to start on Tuesday.
FTSE 100-listed Sports Direct has over 430 sports stores in Britain and another 270 elsewhere in Europe. Last week Ashley reduced his stake in the firm to 55.14 percent from 57.7 percent, raising 110 million pounds.($1 = 0.6629 pounds)