Whither the Poison Pill?

Neil Henderson • Posted 14/08/2009 • Under Articles

The poison pill is a corporate strategy employed by a public company's Board of directors against potential hostile takeovers. The term "poison pill" has come to mean any method employed by a target company which acts as a deterrent to a potential purchaser. In its most common form, however, the poison pill is essentially the putting into place of a shareholder-rights plan, as a result of which a successful hostile bidder is then faced with the prospect of substantially inflated acquisition costs. Having fallen from fashion for a time, poison pills are increasingly being re-examined by Bermuda public companies.

A version of this article was also published by EU Bankers.