A senior board member of what is now Destination Queenstown, unhappy at a story, storms into the Mountain Scene office and threatens to punch a cub reporter. He leaves after a warning that police will be called if he doesn’t.

Hostile takeover bid
The board of the public but unlisted Mountain Scene Ltd is taken by surprise in October 1986 at a hostile takeover bid by Southern Equities Ltd.

The Invercargill development and investment company writes to shareholders and convertible noteholders to say: "We have been attempting to launch a development in the Queenstown accommodation field over the last five months. Because of some bad press and a number of objections, progress has been slow. We have been looking at Mountain Scene as a vehicle to promote our development and to this end would like to acquire a large shareholding in the newspaper."

The raider offers $4.10 per share and says "if you accept our offer and place the proceeds of the sale…in a fixed investment deposit…you will get a far greater yield from your investment than you do at present".

Southern Equities also says it will look to publish the paper twice or three times weekly.The board sends the following urgent telegram to shareholders: “re your mountain scene shareholding stop we believe a party is attempting to secure a major shareholding in the company stop your directors consider the price suggested is not particularly attractive stop a letter from the directors will be sent to you shortly stop in the meantime we advise you not to sell your shareholding if approached to do so”.

All 30 shareholders and 26 noteholders rejected the offer but the increasing "fragmentation and dispersal" of the company’s shareholders, together with consolidation in the NZ media industry generally, caused fears for the continued independence of Mountain Scene.

1987
Mountain Scene comes in for some stick when local dailies publish articles criticising the newsweekly for its exclusive news arrangement with the then-Queenstown Promotion Bureau, forerunner of Destination Queenstown. The previous year, Mountain Scene had been asked for financial support from the cash-strapped bureau and the paper put up $15,000 as seed money to produce both a promotional video and souvenirs to provide QPB with ongoing funding. Other media begin to boycott QPB press releases, believing Mountain Scene is unfairly favoured. Critics of the exclusivity deal include then-general manager of Walter Peak Resorts, Clive Geddes, a subsequent mayor – he was reportedly "extremely annoyed". As soon as the outcry surfaces, Mountain Scene relaxes the exclusivity arrangement, without requiring QPB to refund any seed money. refund any seed money.

Buyout
The previous year’s surprise but unsuccessful takeover bid by Invercargill investment and development company Southern Equities caused a ripple among board members and senior management of Mountain Scene Ltd.

As older shareholders moved away from the district, or shares passed to the next generation, the company’s small share register was becoming increasingly vulnerable to media industry consolidation.

Frequent fears were expressed for the continued independence of Mountain Scene and so it was that founder chairman Barry Thomas and then-general manager Frank Marvin mounted a form of management buyout.

The matter had been under discussion at board level since the surprise Southern Equities takeover bid the previous October.

Thomas and Marvin said immediately they wanted a board recommendation for any bid they might make and a committee of independent directors is appointed to negotiate with the pair.

The board committee then sought an independent valuation and agreement is subsequently reached to recommend a bid by Thomas and Marvin at $8.52 per share, more than twice that offered earlier by Southern Equities.

With Thomas and Marvin abstaining, the offer is unanimously endorsed by all other board members and the company is privatised on April 1, 1987.

1990
A long-time local, upset at a long-forgotten story, strolls into the Mountain Scene office, blithely empties a full bag of sheep manure onto the publisher’s desk – then smiles and leaves without a word