Margaret Tapper

". The relationship with Perkins became an important one for Heatley. Perkins was known and respected in Auckland business circles. Importantly, Heatley felt that even though he himself was young, Perkins took him seriously and had faith in him. Heatley thought of Perkins as a mentor. It was through Perkins, Heatley thinks, that Tapper and George’s faith in him also grew. ‘A lot of people in business can be trustworthy but I wouldn’t trust them with my life,’ Heatley observes. ‘But Bruce Perkins, Margaret George and Margaret Tapper? They are salt-of-the-earth people and I would trust them with my life. Absolutely.’ Perkins’ son, Clark, who was at Goldman Sachs until starting private equity company Mercury Capital in 2010, became Heatley’s close friend."

"Rainbow Corporation’s prospectus proposed the issue of 12.5 million shares. Of those, five million would be sold at 50c per share to the public, and the rest would be sold for 20c per share to the founders. Hawkins would be chairman and the five board members would be Heatley, who would also be managing director, John Sheffield, Peter Coote, Margaret George and Margaret Tapper. John Sorensen and Ken Wikeley would be principal shareholders. The prospectus records that the company had agreed to issue 625,000 options ‘to a company indirectly owned by the Managing Director Mr Craig Heatley’. The options were exercisable at 50c each at any time prior to July 1989."

"Margaret Tapper, who had a degree in Classics, and Margaret George, a nurse, had originally wanted a profitable company of a size they could manage along with their domestic commitments. Heatley was charging ahead with optimism and enthusiasm, carrying others along with him who, as Perkins had foreseen, were being led out of their comfort zone. There were few female directors on any public companies at the time, let along two women on one board. ‘I was company secretary of Rainbow and I hardly knew what it meant,’ says Tapper."

"The takeover went ahead in August 1987. *Personal Investor* magazine reported that Heatley’s 32 million Rainbow shares, which had been about 25 per cent of Rainbow, became 20 million BIL shares, making him the second largest individual shareholder in BIL with 2 per cent. The largest individual shareholder was Ron Brierley himself, with 4 per cent of the company. Margaret George and Margaret Tapper did not do well out of the settlement, which gave three BIL shares for every five Rainbow shares, and four BIL shares for every five Rainbow options. ‘In the conversion to Brierley shares, something went on with the Rainbow options which diminished the value, or it should have been spread around us all,’ Tapper says. George agrees. ‘I think that’s where I ended up a bit confused and wondering what had happened.’ Everyone involved in the company had learned so much, but there was nothing they could do to save it at the end. On 23 November 1987, Rainbow Corporation was delisted from the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The Rainbow that had arced so brightly had quickly faded away."

"Whether or not the actual sale was a mistake, Rainbow’s board miscalculated how it would be perceived by the market. Rainbow hoped the announcement would clear up the unpleasantness and, with a new solid, respected stakeholder on board, investor confidence would be renewed and Rainbow could get back to business. But as soon as it was announced, the Brierley’s move was portrayed as a takeover and nothing the Rainbow board said would persuade the market to see the situation differently. Rainbow struggled for momentum in business and struggled for traction in the market. The perception was that it could do nothing without BIL’s permission. Adding to the woes, world sharemarkets, which had wobbled early in the year, had sustained another correction in April 1987 and were causing some people anxiety. One of them was Margaret Tapper."