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An Irish business rival is using New Zealand to stage a back-door assault on Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chief executive of Independent News & Media (IN&M).
The Irish Times reported businessman Denis O'Brien was increasing his stake in IN&M by accumulating New Zealand securities which would be able to be converted into shares.
The O'Reilly family owns 26pc of IN&M, which controls 180 newspapers, including Britain's The Independent.
IN&M has a 39.7 per cent stake in Australasian media concern APN News & Media, publisher of The New Zealand Herald.
A subsidiary of IN&M, News & Media NZ, has raised funds from more than 4800 New Zealand investors through the issue of preference shares.
The preference shares mature on November 30, 2007, and at that time can be exchanged for either $4.00 in cash or one ordinary share in Dublin-based IN&M.
Mr O'Brien already has an 8.35 per cent stake in the Irish company and IN&M took steps last month to make sure that it could see who was buying shares.
But according to the Irish Times, Mr O'Brien's initiative was accomplished in secret because he bought up the special preference shares in New Zealand through an Isle of Man company, Baycliffe.
Mr O'Brien is reported to have bought five million of the 56 million available. The 56 million are expected to represent 7 per cent of IN&M's issued stock when they are converted to shares.
IN&M has previously accused Mr O'Brien of trying to destabilise the group in advance of a bid.
Apart from tightening rules on share-buying disclosure, IN&M has bought back 1.78 per cent of its entire issued capital in an effort to thwart Mr O'Brien's manoeuvres.
- NZPA
