JCPenney’s Tries to Avert Takeovers

JCPenney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas) has adopted a shareholder rights plan to protect against takeovers for a year.

The plan would be triggered if an individual investor or investment group acquires 10 percent or more of the company’s shares; or commences a tender or exchange offer that would result in someone owning more than that portion of the shares.

The embattled department store retailer has been fending off insurgencies from its larger shareholders and members of its board as it tries to recover from its worst financial performance in more than 20 years.

Apparently, though, the plan won’t apply to either Pershing Square Capital Management LP or Vornado Realty Trust, two of the more vocal shareholders arguing for quicker action and management changes, “as long as their ownership is permitted under certain agreements with the company.” Bloomberg News reported Penney won’t say what related agreements are already in place with Ackman and Vornado.