greenmail

American  

[green-mayl] / ˈgrinˌmeɪl /

noun

Stock 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.

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greenmail British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• greenmailer
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of greenmail

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

greenmail

Fiss said that companies often try to make corporate raiders go away quietly by paying a premium for the shares they acquired, a practice known as greenmail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2022

Maybe the evidence was weak, and GE paid the equivalent of greenmail just to make the SEC go away.

From BusinessWeek ● Feb. 10, 2011

Opponents also want an end to greenmail, the practice by which a raider launches a fight for corporate control and then agrees to be bought out for a premium.

From Time Magazine Archive

That would help to prevent managements from paying inflated prices to buy back stock from raiders in greenmail deals.

From Time Magazine Archive

Pickens' spectacular gains have led critics to charge that he is really an adept practitioner of "greenmail."

From Time Magazine Archive

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