SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

FileNet, a Costa Mesa manufacturer of electronic document storage and retrieval systems, has adopted a “shareholder rights plan” intended to thwart an unfriendly takeover attempt.

In a statement, the company said the plan “is not being adopted in response to any known effort to acquire control of the company.”

Theodore J. Smith, FileNet’s president and chief executive, said the plan would not prevent a takeover “but should encourage anyone seeking to acquire the company to negotiate with the board prior to attempting a takeover.”

Under FileNet’s plan, shareholders will be issued rights to purchase company stock for each share of common stock they owned as of Nov. 17. The plan would go into effect in the event a person or group acquired 25% of FileNet’s common stock outstanding or announced a tender offer for 30% or more of the company’s stock.

Such anti-takeover plans, often called “poison pills,” are intended to raise the costs of a hostile takeover to the would-be buyer.