Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ defence in Elon Musk takeover bid

Poison pills are often used to defend against hostile takeovers.

Elon Musk (Patrick Pleul/Pool Photo via AP)

Twitter said on Friday that its board of directors has unanimously adopted a “poison pill” defence in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company and take it private.

Twitter said the move, formally called a “limited duration shareholder rights plan”, aims to enable its investors to “realise the full value of their investment” by reducing the likelihood that any one person can gain control of the company without either paying shareholders a premium or giving the board more time.