Inter Pipeline adopts shareholder rights plan to support strategic review

(Reuters) -Inter Pipeline Ltd said late on Wednesday it has adopted a shareholder rights plan to support a strategic review, weeks after investment firm Brookfield Infrastructure Partners said it would go ahead with its C$7.1 billion takeover of the Canadian company.

Earlier this month, Inter Pipeline had asked shareholders to reject Brookfield's hostile bid, saying the offer "significantly undervalues" the Canadian oil and gas transportation company.

Inter Pipeline on Wednesday said the rights plan includes a "technical revision" to treat certain financial derivatives, which have already been utilized by Brookfield, as equivalent to beneficial share ownership.

The company said its shareholder rights plan was not intended to prevent Brookfield from acquiring Inter Pipeline, but was modified to support and facilitate the strategic review.

Last month, Inter Pipeline launched a review of options, including a possible 'corporate transaction', just a week after it rejected an unsolicited bid from its largest shareholder.

(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)