greenmail

English

Etymology

Blend of greenback +‎ blackmail

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

greenmail (countable and uncountable, plural greenmails)

1. Profiting from an attempted hostile takeover by forcing the target company to buy back the hostile bidder's shares at an inflated price.
   • 2007, S.R. Vishwanath, Corporate Finance‎^[1], →ISBN, page 681:

     Greenmails typically result in reduced shareholder value.

   • 2013 July 30, Unfinished Business (Suits), season 3, episode 3, spoken by Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman):

     He's gonna leverage his position, and he's gonna get as much greenmail as he can.

Derived terms

• anti-greenmail

 

Verb

greenmail (third-person singular simple present greenmails, present participle greenmailing, simple past and past participle greenmailed)

1. To profit from an attempted hostile takeover by forcing the target company to buy back the hostile bidder's shares at an inflated price.

Derived terms

• greenmailer

Related terms

• see blackmail

Anagrams

• Megrelian, marine leg