greenmail

[ green-meyl ]

nounStock Exchange.
  1. the practice of buying a large block of a company's stock in order to force a rise in stock prices or an offer by the company to repurchase that block of stock at an inflated price to thwart a possible takeover bid.

Origin of greenmail

1
green (in sense “money”) + (black)mail

Other words from greenmail

  • greenmailer, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for greenmail

greenmail

/ (ˈɡriːnˌmeɪl) /


noun
  1. (esp in the US) the practice of a company buying sufficient shares in another company to threaten takeover and making a quick profit as a result of the threatened company buying back its shares at a higher price

Origin of greenmail

1
C20: a blend of green (sense 8) or greenback (sense 2) + blackmail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012