Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) has adopted a shareholder rights plan and its chief executive has acquired nearly a third of its shares, the Canadian food processor said on Thursday, prompting speculation that the company is preparing to ward off a takeover attempt. Maple Leaf shares rose 32 Canadian cents. or 2.9 percent, to C$11.39 in early action on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company said the shareholder rights plan is not a response to any actual or anticipated transaction and replaces a plan that expired last year. But it follows a standoff with an activist investor earlier this year and last year's exit of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, its biggest shareholder at the time. The surprising moves, announced shortly after the company reported a five-fold increase in quarterly profit, amount to CEO Michael McCain taking a firmer grip of the company, which has not been the subject of previous takeover chatter, Octagon Capital analyst Robert Gibson said.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. operates in three segments: the Meat Products Group, the Agribusiness Group and the Bakery Products Group. Shares of MFI fell by 2.63% or $-0.16/share to $5.92. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $3.53 and as high as $6.42. On average, 24155 shares of MFI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5100.
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