Finish Line adopts poison pill after 'recent share accumulations'

Aug 28 (Reuters) - Sporting goods retailer Finish Line Inc said on Monday its board adopted a shareholder rights plan after "recent share accumulations".

The rights plan, also known as a "poison pill", will be triggered if a party takes 12.5 percent ownership and will expire on Aug. 28, 2020, the company said.

UK-based Sports Direct International Plc, one of Finish Line's top shareholders, raised its stake in the company to 19.9 percent on June 21 from 9.2 percent on May 17, according to a regulatory filing. (http://bit.ly/2vDObDs)

Finish Line also cut its full-year adjusted profit forecast to 50-60 cents per share from $1.12-$1.23 per share, and said it expects sales and gross margin to remain challenged through the fiscal year.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.10 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Finish Line also said it expected current-quarter sales to be $469.4 million, while analysts estimated revenue of $477.2 million. The company attributed the decline to a "promotional" market and "pressure on gross margin from increased markdowns".

(Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)