Proxyrådgivere er mere åbne for beskyttelse mod aktivistfonde under COVID-19 med eksempelvis Poison Pills: Børsnoterede selskaber er under den aktuelle krise langt mere sårbare overfor opkøbende aktivistfonde og overtagelsesforsøg end normalt.
Advokatfirmaet Sidley gennemgår overvejelser omkring at opsætte beskyttelsesværn:
“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, shareholder rights plans or “poison pills” continue to be a hot topic in Corporate America. As explained in our previous Sidley Update ( Should Boards Adopt a Poison Pill in the COVID-19 Crisis? ), the combination of high trading volumes and extreme levels of market volatility, along with the use of derivatives, makes it difficult for stock watch services to detect rapid stock accumulations. These factors make it easy for activists and hostile bidders to scoop up large stakes undetected at a time when most companies’ share prices are severely depressed as a result of the recent stock market crash. In response to these extraordinary circumstances, many companies are considering adopting a poison pill to establish a ceiling on share ownership (typically 10 percent or 15 percent for “regular” poison pills and 4.9 percent for rights plans adopted to protect tax net operating losses (NOLs)). In fact, since March 1, 2020, at least 28 U.S. public companies have adopted a poison pill, the highest number of new adoptions in such a short time period in over 20 years. To further put this number in perspective, only 25 S&P 1500 companies had a poison pill in place at the end of 2019.”
