(Bloomberg) -- Talos Energy Inc. has implemented a so-called poison pill plan in a bid to defend itself against Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s repeated share purchases, which have reached 24.2% of the firm.
The company will issue one right per each common share and the rights won’t be exercisable unless a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 25% or more of the company’s stock without approval of the board, according to a filing on Tuesday.
Since November, Slim’s Control Empresarial de Capitales SA de CV doubled its holdings in Houston-based Talos. A new filing on Tuesday showed he bought an additional 100,000 shares on Sept. 27.
“We have every intent to continue working constructively with Control Empresarial,” Talos Chairman Neal Goldman said in the filing. “The board welcomes long-term investors. The board determined that based on the current circumstances, it was in Talos stockholders’ best interest to adopt a rights plan to protect the long-term interests of all Talos stockholders.”
If the rights become exercisable, each holder outside the acquiring person or group will have the right to purchase a number of shares having a market value of twice the exercise price of the right, according to the filing. The rights program will run for one year.
The plan “reduces the likelihood that any person or group gains future control of the company through open market accumulation or other tactics potentially disadvantaging the interests of all stockholders,” Talos said in a statement.
After falling as much as 3.4% at the start of trading, Talos shares closed 0.8% higher to $10.43. Slim’s stake is valued at $454 million.
A spokesperson for Slim didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a May 30 Talos filing, Control Empresarial’s share purchases were described as being for investment purposes only and not aimed at changing or influencing the company.
Slim’s Grupo Carso acquired a 49.9% stake in Talos’ Mexican unit last year for $125 million, which granted it a slice of the promising Zama oil field.
Control Empresarial has also been boosting its stake in US refiner PBF Energy Inc., doubling its holdings to 20% of outstanding shares in the past year.
Slim, 84, is the wealthiest person in Latin America with a fortune of $89.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
(Updates with latest share purchase in third paragraph.)
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