English

Noun

greenmail ‎(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, ISBN 0761934979, page 681:

     Greenmails typically result in reduced shareholder value.

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

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

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

• blackmail, graymail, whitemail

Anagrams

• Megrelian