Suspected buyer is prince
NZPA-AAP London A flamboyant Arab prince is reportedly behind the purchase of 12.5 per cent of the international news and financial information agency, Reuters, which went public last week. The “Daily Express” newspaper said that Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed, heirapparent to the Abu Dhabi throne, once decided to lunch at his favourite restaurant in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. He happened to be on holiday in Cairo at the time and so he chartered a VCIO jet for the trip, which cost some £12,500 ($NZ26,875) with the lunch on top. The sheik decided two weeks ago that he liked the look of Reuters and so as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority he encouraged share-buying.
Total funds under the authority’s control are secret but are thought to be about £15,700 million ($NZ33,755 million). It had no trouble finding the more than £7l million ($NZ152.65M) needed to buy the 36,535,000 Reuters B (limited voting) shares it announced on Monday it held.
The “Financial Times” reported that the authority said in a letter to Reuters it regarded the investment as long term with a relatively attractive rate of return.
Reuters’ financial director, Mr Nigel Judah, said: “We welcome investment from anywhere. They know our voting structure and I am told they understand very well the limitations on the size of the holdings.”
Some 38 per cent of Reuters B shares have been sold to outside interests with all A shares — carrying four times the voting power — retained by the original newspaper and staff owners. No one interest may hold more than 15 per cent of any class of share.
The estimated cost of the Abu Dhabi shares is based on their purchase at the striking price of 196 pence a share (SNZ4.2I) in the initial tender.
However, as the London tender issue was well oversubscribed and offers were scaled down, further shares may have been bought in the active trading that followed. Reuters continued to climb on the London market on Monday, indicating that the authority has made a
substantial profit already. It rose sixpence (12 cents) to 230 pence ($NZ4.94) which would give Abu Dhabi a profit of more than £l2 million (SNZ2S.BM) excluding expenses in just over a week if all the shares were brought at the striking price. Earlier report, page 32
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Press, 13 June 1984, Page 8
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388Suspected buyer is prince Press, 13 June 1984, Page 8
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