The holding of a large block of stock of a target company by an unfriendly company, with the object of forcing the target company to repurchase the stock at a substantial premium to prevent a takeover. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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The situation by which a large block of stock is held by an unfriendly company, which forces the target company to repurchase the stock at a substantial premium to prevent a takeover. Exchange Handbook Glossary
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when a company buys back its stock from a Suitor (= a company that is trying to take it over), often for a very high price, to try to prevent a takeover:
• One of Japan's wealthiest men, he has a history of speculation in stocks and real estate and is renowned for his attempts at greenmail.
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Potential predators can buy shares in a company and threaten to take it over, or disrupt its management. The company can sometimes remove that threat by buying back the shares owned by the predators at a premium to market price, often in exchange for a commitment to limit their shareholdings in future.
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Ⅰ.
greenmail UK US /ˈɡriːnmeɪl/ noun [U] STOCK MARKET
► the act of buying enough shares in a company to be able to control it, in order to force the owners of the company to buy back these shares at a very high price: »
The stockmarkets are not yet free of greenmail.
Ⅱ.
greenmail UK US /ˈɡriːnmeɪl/ verb [T] STOCK MARKET
► to buy enough shares in a company to be able to control it, in order to sell them again at a very high price: »
Did he want to greenmail the company into buying him out at a fat profit?
Financial and business terms. 2012.