Bill Miller of Miller Industries
Contributed PhotoBill Miller, chairman of Miller Industries, is in talks to buy a bankrupt Scottish soccer team, according to the BBC and other news outlets.
Chattanooga-based Miller Industries is a leading manufacturer of tow trucks.
Through an intermediary, Miller's son declined to comment on the sale.
Though Miller himself is reportedly "not a big soccer fan," he has a history of turning around troubled enterprises, the Glasgow-based Herald reported. Previous sports ventures include a failed racing league called the Team Racing Auto Circuit that was designed to compete with NASCAR.
Including Miller's bid, the 140-year-old Rangers have received three offers to rescue the team from a reported $212.7 million in debt, according to news reports.
After an initial offer as part of a 12-man Chicago consortium fell through, Miller pushed forward with the deal along with a handful of the original group, according to the Daily Record, also Glasgow-based.
Miller formed Miller Industries in April 1990 and employs 760 workers who make tow trucks under a number of brands. The company earned $23 million in 2011 on $412 million in sales, according to Miller Industries' annual report.
Miller himself owns nearly 3 percent of the company, or about $5 million in stock.
In addition to its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Miller Industries also has facilities in Greeneville, Tenn.; Hermitage and Mercer, Pa.; Thetford, England; and Revigny, France.