Herald Joins Battle For Perth Newspaper

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32029, 2 July 1969, Page 20

Herald Joins Battle For Perth Newspaper

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SYDNEY, July 1.

The Herald and Weekly Times, Ltd, formally notified the Stock Exchange this morning of an offer of two Herald and Weekly Times shares for one share in West Australian Newspapers, Ltd, conditional on 90 per cent acceptance.

Herald shares last sold at 380 c. This values each W.A. Newspapers share at 760 c; the whole bid is worth s7om.

Earlier, it was announced that a strong combination of business interests, including the Consolidated Press Group, of Sydney, Boral, Ltd (oil refiner and distributor), and Mr T. E. Wardle (Mayor of Perth and founder of a cut-price grocery chain) are associated in a first-come-first-served bid worth $14.3m being made for a 25 per cent interest in West Australian Newspapers, Ltd, of Perth.

West Australian Newspapers publishes Perth’s only two daily newspapers, the morning “West Australian’.’ (average circulation about 190,000), and the evening “Daily News” (about 110,000). Until now the only outside newspaper group known to have an interest in W.A. Newspapers is the Herald and Weekly Times, Ltd, of Melbourne. Its last reported holding of 188,000 50c shares represents about 2 per cent of the $4.6m issued ordinary capital .

The offer was announced late yesterday by an investment company, Tricontinental Corporation, Ltd, of which Sir lan Potter is chairman, and Boral, Ltd, is the largest shareholder. The offer of 550 c a share will be made today through Hartley Poynton and Company members of the Stock Exchange of Perth, for 2,300,000 ordinary voting shares in W.A. Newspapers. This is well above yesterday’s market price of 415 c. Early this year the shares were as high as 443 c, but more recently they have been as low as 370 c.

Shares in W.A. Newspapers are widely held. Apart from the Herald and Weekly Times holding, the largest interests appear to be held by the chairman (Mr S. J. F. Hocking), about 80,000 shares, and the company’s own staff pension fund.

If the first-come bid through Tricontinental Corporation is successful in obtaining 25 per eent, this

would be easily the largest bolding. The chairman (Mr Hocking) said last night that the board had received a letter of intent from Hartley Poynton and Company. “The board is not yet in a position to state the effect of the letter, or to say what its recommendation to shareholders will be,” he said.