ROANOKE — Norfolk Southern Corp.’s board of directors has ended the company’s shareholder rights plan that allowed shareholders the right to buy a certain number of new shares at a 50 percent discount price, the Roanoke Times reported.
NS spokeswoman Susan Bland said the termination of the plan, announced Tuesday, did not come about from any known interest in the company. Instead, the company’s improved financial and capital market performance triggered the board’s decision.
In September 2000, NS adopted the “poison pill” in an effort to deter potential acquirers from taking over the company. The plan would have been used only if a person or group purchased 15 percent or more of NS’ shares or announced a tender offer for 15 percent or more of the company’s shares.
That strategy would have allowed a company such as NS to issue millions of extra shares to existing shareholders at lower prices, making it much more expensive to acquire the company.
At the time, NS and some analysts said they weren’t aware of any effort to acquire such an interest in the company. Other analysts said the railroad was worried its stock price was so low it could have become a takeover target.
Despite the then-booming stock market, NS’ stock price had taken a beating. The stock hit a 52-week high of $25.50 in September 1999. A 52-week low of $12.69 was reported March 7, 2000. At the date of the agreement, NS’ stock price was $14.63, near its historic low.
The stock price rebounded. In September it was $21.52. NS shares rose 73 cents Wednesday to close at $19.86.