London Weekend Television
Mr Rupert Murdoch was writing to a share- holder in October saying he doubted if the 1TA would let him buy any more shares than the 7-1 per cent from the GEC but the latest news about his takeover of the feeble board of London Weekend Television is that my advice (SPECTATOR, 19 December) has been taken and Stella Richman has departed.
The £500,000 rights issue to those holding the existing ordinary capital of £1,500,000 was carried out by 26 January. In connection with the rights Mr Aidan Crawley, still somehow the chairman, wrote to share- holders on 23 December without trying to encourage them to take up their rights as they would revert to Mr Murdoch. He said
. . larger shareholders representing a majority of the issued share capital have indicated that they do not propose to take up their rights.'
On 11 January he circulated details of the rights saying, `To date shareholders who would have been entitled to 240,447 A ordinary shares if they,itad taken up their rights, have indicated/that they will not do so.'
Thus at that he those 'shareholders representing a majority of the share capital' had not indicated formally that they were not taking up their rights.
London Weekend Television now say that they will be guided by their merchant bank- ers Samuel Montagu but they do not see why they should reveal how many shares have been taken up by shareholders and how many have reverted to Mr Murdoch and the News of the World. Very odd and not
normal City practice, which is to reveal the results of new issues as soon as practicable. Particularly as Mr David Montagu, a direc- tor of London Weekend Television and head of Samuel Montagu, last week was making commendable public remarks urgirht the setting up of something similar to a Securi- ties and Exchange Commission in place of the City Code as consistently advocated in this column (SPECTATOR, 31 October).
It will be interesting to know who. other than Mr Murdoch and the SPECTATOR (who have taken up their rights, of course) still has faith in London Weekend Television
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