Holmes a Court makes HWT counter-bid

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 7

Holmes a Court makes HWT counter-bid

NZPA. Melbourne Robert Holmes a Court has countered Mr Rupert Murdoch’s $l.B billion tilt at the Herald and Weekly Times, Lid, by announcing an sAust2 billion takeover offer for the media group.

Mr Holmes a Court’s Bell Group, Ltd, subsidiary, J. N. Taylor Holdings, Ltd, told the Melbourne Stock Exchange it would offer $l3 a share provided the HWT board recommended acceptance of the offer in the absence of a higher bid.

An HWT spokesman was not immediately available for comment on whether the newspaper

group would support the bid.

The offer, which follows Mr Holmes a Court’s saying last Friday he would decide about a bid for HWT this week, counters the $l2 a share cash offer and paper alternatives announced by Mr Murdoch’s News Corp on December 3.

In Perth, Mr Holmes a Court said the J. N. Taylor offer was SISOM more than that of Mr Murdoch, and he expected HWT directors would recommend it to shareholders;

J. N. Taylor is also offering two scrip alternatives.

These are:- © Seven $7, five per

cent convertible notes, issued by J. N. Taylor, for every four HWT shares; or

• Seven J. N. Taylor convertible preference shares, each converting into one J. N. Taylor ordinary share five years after issue but without voting rights, again for every four HWT shares. As well as a 90 per cent acceptance condition, J. N. Taylor said the offer is conditional on no material changes being made to the structure, business, or assets of HWT associates, which include Queensland Press, Ltd, and Adelaide’s Advertiser Newspapers Ltd.

HWT owns 43 per cent

of Queensland Press and 49 per cent of the Advertiser.

The offer will also be subject to any approval required under the Broadcasting Act, Trade Practices Act, Companies Code and Companies (Acquisition of Shares) Code.

In a statement to the Melbourne Stock Exchange J. N. Taylor’s chief executive, Mr Bert Reuter, said: “It is the intention of Taj’lor to build on and preserve the structure of HWT.” Mr Murdoch’s News Corp $l2 a share offer for all HWT’s issued capital on December 3 had been widely tipped to succeed by share market analysts.