Robert Sarver has pulled the plug on his bid to buy Rangers after the Ibrox board rejected his latest £20m takeover offer.
The US financier wanted to buy a controlling stake in the crisis-hit Glasgow outfit but saw his hopes spurned when the Rangers directors decided they could not get 75% of shareholders to back him.
Now the American has opted against making a further bid - paving the way for the Three Bears, wealthy fans Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, to offer up a £6.5m emergency loan.
"I'm disappointed the Rangers board has rejected my revised offer, which addressed the club's immediate and long-term needs", Sarver said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
"Clearly the current directors have a different path they want to go down. I hope for the sake of the club and the fans, who've been very warm and supportive towards me, that it works out. I wish the club and fans the best of luck. If they want my support in the future, then they only have to ask."
The statement also said that he "reserves the right" to make another offer for the club within the next six months.
Sarver, the owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, had increased his offer to £20m via a placing, from an original offer of £18m.
The offer also included a short-term loan of £6.5m to alleviate the club's cash problems.
The 54-times Scottish champions have climbed back to the second tier after being wound up and re-formed as a fourth-tier club in 2012.
