hostile takeover

noun

, Business.

1. a takeover that is not approved by the management of the corporation being acquired or that is accomplished through the secret purchase of stock.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hostile takeover¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

They recognized that the club’s direct democratic process — and its annual elections of three members of its 15-person board — was a vulnerability, and they assembled the first stages of a plan: a hostile takeover.

From Salon

The first time Trump won the GOP nomination, in 2016, it was a hostile takeover by an insurgent with weak Republican credentials.

From Los Angeles Times

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost launched an investigation the next day into what he called the fund’s “susceptibility to a hostile takeover by private interests.”

From Seattle Times

He faced a challenge by activist shareholders and a hostile takeover.

From Seattle Times

There are hostile takeovers, Cold War-like developments of dubious technologies and increasingly intense robot armor.

From New York Times

Related Words

• leveraged buyout
• takeover