Foot Locker Fends Off an Activist Takeover With a New Poison Pill Plan
Seeking to keep one immensely rich activist in particular at bay, Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) announced the temporary adoption of a shareholder rights plan, otherwise known as a "poison pill," to guard against a takeover attempt. Alarm bells sounded when the company realized Vesa Equity Investment had progressively bought up a 12.2% stake in Foot Locker, with the most recent purchase, on Dec. 4, snapping up 153,730 shares. Vesa Equity is a holding company owned and controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire lawyer who is an aggressive, well-known activist investor, dubbed "the Czech sphinx."