INDEPENDENT Newspapers had got acceptances in respect of almost 86 per cent of the shares in the New Zealand newspaper group Wilson & Horton, when the offer closed yesterday. Independent - through to IPCL associate - offered NZ$11 a share for W&H, which valued the company at £440 million.
Meanwhile, Radio Network of New Zealand, in which Independent has a substantial stake through to interests in APN and Wilson & Horton, has paid £17 million for Prospect, a radio group with 12 stations. Prospect's previous owners, the British media group GWR, bought Prospect for £13 million last February.
In its statement yesterday, GWR said it was an underbidder when Radio New Zealand was sold to the consortium made up of APN, Wilson & Horton and Clear Channel Communications for £40 million - a price which GWR believed it would "not have been prudent to offer". The level of acceptances for W&H means Independent will not be able to immediately acquire the outstanding shares.
Under News Zealand Stock Exchange rules, Independent is able to continue buying W&H shares up to a maximum of 5 per cent in any one year. If Independent is successful in finding sellers for another 4 per cent it can move to mop up the remaining shares.
If, however, Independent had got acceptances of less than 80 per cent, it would have been at least two years before it could buy enough W&H shares to go for compulsory acquisition.
