Poison pill popping? Not at News Corp.

The spat hinged on Rupe’s “controversial extension of a poison pill defence” adopted last year.

Many of the uninitiated – us included – could be forgiven for thinking a poison pill is something that might be taken by hair metal god CC Deville whilst on “The Surreal Life 6.”

Not so.

It’s a corporate provision to combat hostile takeovers. When triggered, the “poison pill” allows shareholders to acquire additional shares at below-market prices, essentially increasing the number of shares outstanding and making the takeover prohibitively expensive.

And