article_title name birth_date nationality
fergus mccann
 fergus mccann 1941 canadian
fergus mccann

fergus mccann is a scottish-born canadian businessman and entrepreneur .
mccann 's wealth stemmed initially from a golf vacation company , based in montreal and phoenix .
he is best known for his involvement in celtic f.c. , the football club based in glasgow .
in 1972 , he obtained the satellite television rights to broadcast the celtic v internazionale 1971 -- 72 european cup semi-final in 1972 in toronto , only for the signal to fail and mccann to have to provide refunds .
mccann spent two years raising the money to pay them back , barely buying himself any clothes for himself in that time .
mccann acquired a 51 % controlling stake in the celtic football and athletic company ltd. in 1994 for # 9.5 m , after it became clear that the club was facing bankruptcy .
acting as a guarantor for the club 's # 7 million debt , he injected additional finance , floated the club on the london stock exchange as a public limited company , celtic plc , in order to raise capital from a share issue , and oversaw an extensive redevelopment of celtic park .
he raised # 14m in a share issue , and that contributed to funding the rebuilding work of the team and the stadium .
by the end , celtic had 53,000 season ticket holders .
what some perceived as mccann 's abrasive manner , coupled with his preoccupation with building a sustainable infrastructure for the club off the field rather than a title winning one on it , prompted sustained criticism during much of his tenure .
although credited with rescuing the club from imminent bankruptcy , mccann stated at the outset that he would stay for only five years , with the objectives of placing the club on a firmer business footing and returning the league championship to celtic park .
the latter goal was met , halting glasgow rivals rangers f.c. in their quest for a record-breaking ten consecutive league titles .
in 1999 , mccann sold his shares , leaving irish entrepreneur dermot desmond as the largest shareholder , with a 19.8 % holding .
as his successors mccann appointed allan macdonald as chief executive and frank o'callaghan as chairman .
mccann offered an interest-free payment plan to encourage individuals , rather than financial institutions , to purchase shares .
the result was that small shareholders - principally supporters of the club - owned 63 % of the stock at the time of mccann 's departure .
mccann personally profited in a significant way from the sale of the bulk of his shareholding .
since leaving glasgow in 1999 he has maintained his routine of purchasing four season tickets every year .
mccann 's role in wresting control of celtic from its unpopular long-time owners and averting the apparent threat of bankruptcy , coupled with his subsequent record in developing the club , prompted a reappraisal of his tenure .
some years after leaving celtic , he came to enjoy a popularity amongst many or most celtic supporters that was often absent during his time as the club 's chairman .
mccann returned to north america where he founded limoliner , a company running luxury bus services between boston and manhattan .
