Pacific Sunwear OKs Defense

Directors of Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. have approved a “poison pill” plan designed to thwart any hostile takeover bids of the Anaheim-based casual apparel company.

Pacific Sunwear, which has seen its shares tumble in recent months, says it isn’t aware of any specific move to acquire the company.

Under the plan, shareholders can buy the Pacific Sunwear shares at half market value if a person or group acquires more than 15% of the company’s stock. These shareholder rights would be issued as a dividend to shareholders of record as of Dec. 29.

Pacific Sunwear’s stock, which sank to a 52-week low of $12 on Dec. 1, closed Wednesday at $14.19, down 44 cents a share. The shares had been as high as $39.38 early in July.

On Nov. 30, the company also said directors approved a plan for Pacific Sunwear to buy back up to 1 million shares of common stock. The company said it believed the shares were undervalued.