GREENMAIL

greenmail

(noun) (corporation) the practice of purchasing enough shares in a firm to threaten a takeover and thereby forcing the owners to buy those shares back at a premium in order to stay in business

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

greenmail (countable and uncountable, plural greenmails)

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

Verb

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

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