WebMD has fortified its takeover defenses, as the beleaguered online health information provider continues to struggle with a falling stock price and profits.
The company said on Friday that it had extended a shareholder rights plan, informally known as a poison pill, for two additional years. Such defenses are meant to make hostile takeovers prohibitively expensive for unwanted suitors.
As part of the amendment, stock grants for directors will not count toward determining whether an investor is amassing a bigger stake.
WebMD's board is feeling pressure, as the company continues to flail in the wake of reduced advertising spending by drug makers and increased competition on the Web. It has reported two consecutive quarterly losses, the more recent one topping $5.6 million.
Shares in the information provider have fallen 62 percent so far this year, reaching $14.22 in midmorning trading on Friday.
WebMD has already taken some steps to try to tur n itself around. In June, it named Cavan Redmond, a former Pfizer executive, as its new chief executive.
And it agreed to expand its board by one seat, giving the activist investor Carl C. Icahn the ability to name a director. His firm owned a 13.65 percent stake as of June 30.
