PYR Energy Corporation (AMEX:PYR) announced that it has adopted a "shareholder rights plan" (aka. poison pill) today that would make a hostile takeover of the company much more difficult. The move comes just two days after Samson Investments disclosed a 9.7% stake in the company and made a $1.23 per share acquisition offer in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. The new provision would grant a special dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right on each outstanding share of common stock ten days after someone acquires a 15% or greater interest in the company or ten days after someone makes a tender offer for 15% of the company's common stock. Moreover, each of these preferred shares would allow the shareholder to purchase $10 worth of common stock in the event of a hostile takeover attempt. This means that if Samson Investments were to try and take over the company, this new provision would drastically dilute the company's shares making the hostile takeover attempt prohibitively expensive.

What does this mean in the end? Well, it is now very clear that management is not interested in pursuing any agreement with Samson Investments - there would have been no need for a poison pill if they were planning on accepting the offer. Option grants given to executives shortly after Samson Investments' initial Schedule 13D filing with the SEC were also indication that management was not planning on entertaining any offers. The only interesting part to this story left is the fact that Samson Investments actually has another meaningful stake in the company through its shared subsidiary Samson Lone Star Limited Partnership, which means that Samson Investments and PYR Energy have shared ownership of several oil and gas minerals, leasehold and related properties. So while the next move by Samson Investments remains to be seen, it appears that a takeover for the company may be a lot more difficult than initially thought.

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