Women's retailer Talbots adopted a "poison pill" stockholder rights plan, a day after a media report said a New York-based private equity firm was considering buying the company.
The rights plan lets Talbots issue shares at a discount to all other shareholders if a single investor buy a stake higher than 10 percent. A rights plan makes it harder for a suitor to mount a hostile takeover due to the resultant dilution of the stock.
Talbots said its board adopted the rights plan to "promote fair and equal treatment of its stockholders in light of a recent rapid accumulation of a significant percentage of the company's outstanding common stock."
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that private equity firm Sycamore Partners' co-founder is considering the possibility of buying Talbots, citing sources.
Sycamore, started by retail industry veteran Stefan Kaluzny, had reported a 9.90 percent stake in the company.
Talbots shares closed at $4.07 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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