What are Anti-takeover Measures

When an acquirer attempts a hostile takeover, boards of directors commonly institute measures to thwart the acquirers attempts to gain control of the corporation.

Next Article: Hostile Takeover Defense - Poison Pill Back to: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

What are some Common Anti-takeover Measures?

When an acquirer attempts a hostile takeover, boards of directors commonly institute measures to thwart the acquirers attempts to gain control of the corporation. Some common measures employed are as follows:

What is a Shark Repellent? 

These provisions strengthen the board and make it increasingly difficult for the acquirer to effectuate its plan of replacing current directors.

What is a Staggered Board? 

The election of directors is staggered over a multi-year period. A certain number of directors will be elected at each annual meeting. This will lengthen the amount of time it would take a bidder to gain full control over the board.

Example: ABC Corp has 9 directors. Only 3 directors come up for election each year. At a bare minimum, it would take two years before a majority shareholder would be able to elect 5 directors and obtain a majority on the board.

What is Super-majority Voting?

This means that the proposed action requires a higher number of shareholder votes than a simple majority. This will mean that the hostile acquirer must purchase or obtain a proxy from a larger number of shareholders in order to effectuate the takeover.

Example: ABC Corp amends the articles of organization or bylaws to require an 80% approval of shareholders for any merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of the corporations assets. This means that an acquirer would have to acquire a much larger share of the outstanding shares in order to effectuate the takeover.