Wilson & Horton

"Unrelated, and many months later, Heatley took a late call at home from brokers Buddle Wilson. It transpired that somehow Brierley’s had learned that Michael Horton was booked on a flight from Auckland to Los Angeles. As soon as the plane had taken off, Brierley’s had launched a raid on Wilson & Horton shares. Horton could mount no defence because he did not even know the raid was happening. The brokers were acting on his behalf but without his knowledge. ‘Suddenly, Wilson & Horton, through Buddle Wilson, think I might be able to stave off Brierley’s,’ Heatley says. ‘Brokers are furiously trying to buy shares and they are calling and suggesting that I become a white knight but I was not interested without an agreement with Michael, which I could not have because he was on a plane.’ It was not the last time that an unfortunate turn of events for Wilson & Horton would become an opportunity for Heatley."

"Another of Rainbow’s purchases, for a brief time, was a small stake in ⁠*The New Zealand Herald* publisher Wilson & Horton. Heatley had always been interested in the media from a consumer’s perspective and now thought he would like to be a long-term shareholder in the publishing company and get to know its chairman, Michael Horton. Heatley thought there could potentially be a good partnership. He liked publishing, liked the media and respected what Wilson & Horton had achieved. But after buying 3 per cent at a good price, no overture was forthcoming from Wilson & Horton. ‘I think Michael took the view that there was no way he was going to let me in.’ After a short time, Rainbow sold its stake and moved on to other investments.⁠"

"Sky also needed a home base and studios to transmit from and here, finally, it had some good fortune. When the government had tendered the licence for a third free-to-air TV channel, Wilson & Horton had bid for it. The Auckland-based media company had already been dabbling in television and, apparently anticipating winning the licence, had constructed purpose-built TV studios on a 2.6 hectare site in Mt Wellington. The studios were not perfect for Sky—for a start Wilson & Horton had anticipated just one channel, not the three that Sky proposed, so the equipment needed replicating twice over and technology was changing so quickly that it already needed updating. But it was a proper set of functioning, soundproof studios, technical facilities and offices so Sky did not have to start from scratch. Wilson & Horton had rented some morning airtime from TVNZ and had broadcast a few programmes from the studios, but was left with a white elephant when TV3, not Wilson & Horton, won the licence for the third channel. Importantly for Sky, the acquisition enabled it to hang its shingle on a building that genuinely was a television studio. It was important physical evidence that Sky was real, and was coming."