NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. ended its shareholder rights plan Tuesday because of the company’s improved market performance, reports Dow Jones Newswires.
A Norfolk Southern spokesman said since the adoption of the poison pill in September 2000, the railway company’s financial and capital market standing has improved significantly.
A poison pill is put in place to deter potential acquirers from taking over the company. The spokesman said the termination of the plan didn’t come about from any known interest in the company.
The poison pill had called for shareholders to receive 50% discount purchase rights when a company or person acquired at least 15% of the company. At the date of the agreement, Norfolk Southern’s stock price was $14.63, near its historic low.
New York Stock Exchange-listed shares of the company recently traded at $ 19.25, down 44 cents, or 2.2%, on composite volume of 1.4 million shares. Average daily volume is 1.4 million shares.