Shareholders give OK to poison pill
Western Alliance Bancorporation, the holding company for Bank of Nevada and other western banks, reported on Wednesday that it received shareholder approval to adopt a poison pill provision that could prevent a hostile takeover.
Shareholders of the bank holding company on Tuesday voted 70 million shares in favor of the provision, which amends the company's articles of incorporation. Two million voted against the amendment.
The company has said the measure was designed to prevent unfavorable federal income tax consequences if a shareholder obtained more than 4.9 percent of its outstanding shares over a three-year period.
The company said it feared it might lose a tax-loss carryforward, which can be used to offset taxable income, if an investor exceeded the 4.9 percent cap.
If an investor bought more than 4.9 percent of Western Alliance shares, the company now has authority to issue new shares to dilute the percentage of shares held by the investor.
The decision doesn't affect shareholders who already own more than 4.9 percent of the stock, including mutual funds, the company said.
The market value of Western Alliance shares totals $533 million, according to Yahoo Finance. Shares in Western Alliance gained 37 cents, or 6 percent, to close at $6.54 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Contact reporter John G. Edwards at
jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.
