Laser Power Board Plans Takeover Defense

The board of directors at Laser Power Corp. of San Diego adopted a shareholders' rights plan in an attempt to shield the company from an unsolicited acquisition. If a person or group acquires 15 percent or more of Laser Power, the other shareholders of record as of Oct. 15, 1999, have the right to purchase common stock at a discount.

In September, Saxonburg, Pa.-based II-VI Inc. filed a Schedule 13D statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that revealed it had purchased 14.7 percent of Laser Power common stock. Union Miniere Inc. of Lakewood, Colo., subsequently announced that it had acquired 14.3 percent of the company.

The filing by II-VI also disclosed that it intends to seek to replace Laser Power's board of directors at the annual shareholders' meeting slated for February.