King takes control of Scottish club Rangers

By Neil Maidment LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - South Africa-based businessman Dave King won the battle for control of Scottish soccer club Rangers on Friday, winning a vote to oust the board and appoint himself and others to the helm of the 54-times league champions. Rangers, which reformed as a fourth-tier club in 2012 after being wound up and now play in the Scottish second tier, have been blighted by financial troubles, problematic takeovers and boardroom infighting, with the latest drama coming to a head at a meeting on Friday. With Rangers chairman David Somers and director James Easdale having resigned prior to the Ibrox meeting, shareholders voted to remove CEO Derek Llambias and finance chief Barry Leach and appoint King, fellow former director of the old Rangers company Paul Murray, and businessman John Gilligan to the board. King, who invested 20 million pounds in Rangers in his first stint, has told British media that the club need more than that sum spent again to make them competitive. Llambias and Leach were allies of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, who owns nine percent of Rangers and has provided a 10 million pound loan lifeline to the club through the British retailer. Shares in Rangers were suspended on AIM on Wednesday after WH Ireland resigned as the club's broker.