Lifeway Foods abandons its 2024 poison pill defense after proxy advisor ISS opposes board nominees ahead of June 17 meeting.
Lifeway Foods has terminated its shareholder rights plan, known as a poison pill, days before an investor vote on board composition. The move follows a recommendation by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services to reject the company’s slate of nominees at the June 17 meeting.
The plan, adopted in November 2024 to fend off takeover bids, was extended until October 2026 last year. Lifeway rejected two acquisition offers from Danone in 2024, straining relations with the French dairy group. Edward Smolyansky, Lifeway’s largest shareholder, criticized the board’s decision to abandon the plan as reactive governance.
The rights plan was originally implemented to deter acquisition attempts, but its removal may signal shifting dynamics ahead of the upcoming shareholder vote.