Bidder outflanked

Press, 9 August 1985, Page 8

Bidder outflanked

The mystery bidder standing in the market for an unspecified number of shares in Wilson and Horton is being completely outbid, and would not have picked up as much as 2000 shares at 725 c. Yesterday almost 100,000 shares of the Auckland newspaper proprietor changed hands, more than 87,000 at more than 750 c. The price of Wilson and

Horton shares has risen 110 c since July 29, virtually all of it since the rights to the one-for-10 cash issue ceased trading the next day. The chairman of Wilson and Horton, Mr G. S. Blanshard, said that the directors had obviously been aware of the increased interest in the company’s shares in recent weeks. He said they considered the present price level,

while substantially higher than that which prevailed some months ago, could not be considered excessive when related to either the assets or present trading position of the company.

Mr Blanshard said that if a price level was reached which called for comment, a more detailed statement would be made by the directors.