Poison pill popping increased during the fourth quarter of 1998, despite the stock market's recouping much of its third-quarter loss during that period. In December, 58 U.S. companies adopted new shareholder rights plans, a.k.a. poison pills, or renewed old ones -- the third-highest monthly total for the year, according to Institutional Shareholder Services, Bethesda, Md.
Patrick McGurn, ISS director, corporate programs, said in an interview that he thought this "was residue from when the stock market was down," in the third quarter.
The fees for putting poison pills in place aren't huge, but Mr. McGurn said he thinks they are part of the motivation for investment bankers and lawyers who've encouraged clients to adopt poison pills.
He's gotten calls from companies "asking if there were companies that had put pills in place without using an investment banker or lawyer," he said. "I told them no.
"I don't think there are too many (corporate) general counsels who would feel comfortable putting these pills in place under their own names" without help from an investment banker or lawyer.
