A shareholder rights plan is a mechanism, commonly used by public companies, designed to assist the board in ensuring the fair and equal treatment of all shareholders in the face of an actual or contemplated unsolicited bid to take control of the company.
Our shareholder rights plan (the plan) is designed to give the board sufficient time to properly consider an unsolicited take-over bid and explore alternatives for maximizing shareholder value. The plan does so by permitting the board to authorize a share issuance that would be very dilutive to a bidder proceeding with a bid that does not satisfy certain minimum standards set forth in the plan. The plan is not intended to discourage take-over bids. In all cases, the board is required to carry out the administration of the plan in the best interests of the company with a view to maximizing shareholder value.
Our Plan
The plan was first set up on August 6, 1999, by an agreement between Nexen and CIBC Mellon, and confirmed at a special shareholders’ meeting on February 3, 2000. As required by regulation, the plan must be re-approved every three years and was continued and amended and restated, with the approval of our shareholders, on May 2, 2002, April 27, 2005, April 29, 2008 and April 27, 2011.
Download the Shareholder Rights Plan (PDF 0.1MB)