Casual Male adopts a rights plan

Casual Male Retail Group, the Canton retailer of apparel for big and tall men, said today that its board of directors has adopted a rights plan, which is sometimes referred to as a "poison pill."

A poison pill can be loosely defined as a company strategy that makes it more difficult for a potential buyer to acquire the company if the proposed acquisition is against the wishes of the company's board.

The Casual Male plan announced this morning and in effect for one year, is set to kick in if "an entity becomes, or launches a tender offer to become, the beneficial owner of 15 percent or more of the company's outstanding common stock (including derivative positions), subject to certain exceptions, the company said in a press release.

About a year ago, company stock was trading at about $8 per share. Yesterday the closing price on the Nasdaq Stock Market was 58 cents per share.

The purpose of the plan is to prevent a coercive or a hostile takeover in which the third party has not had discussions with Casual Male's board of directors, vice president Jeff Unger said.

"It was instituted to protect shareholders' interests so they would receive fair-market value for their ownership," he added.

To read Casual Male's full press release, please click here. The images accompanying this post were taken from Casual Male's website.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)