godfather offer

British

noun

informal a takeover bid pitched so high that the management of the target company is unable to dissuade shareholders from accepting it

"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

Etymology

Origin of godfather offer

C20: from the 1972 film The Godfather, in which a character was made an offer he could not refuse by a threatening mafioso

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But in 2011 came the Godfather offer - one he couldn’t refuse - to join Cirque du Soleil’s “Totem” tour as its drummer, lead singer and assistant bandleader.

From Washington Times

That could be the city of St. Louis coming up with a Godfather offer for a stadium there, one the Rams simply couldn't refuse.

From Los Angeles Times

That player won't be Palmer as the Raiders were the ones who put together "The Godfather" offer, the one the Bengals couldn't refuse.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023