hostile takeover

Meaning

A hostile takeover occurs when an acquiring company attempts to take over a target company against the wishes of the target company's management or board of directors. This is usually done by appealing directly to the shareholders or fighting to replace the management. It carries a tense, aggressive connotation in corporate finance.

Examples

• The board of directors is preparing a defense strategy to block the hostile takeover.

  The board of directors is preparing a defense strategy to block the hostile takeover.

• After the hostile takeover succeeded, the new owners immediately replaced the CEO.

  After the hostile takeover succeeded, the new owners immediately replaced the CEO.

• They launched a hostile takeover by offering to buy shares directly from the public at a premium.

  They launched a hostile takeover by offering to buy shares directly from the public at a premium.

• Rumors of a hostile takeover caused the company's stock price to skyrocket.

  Rumors of a hostile takeover caused the company's stock price to skyrocket.

• The tech giant abandoned its hostile takeover bid after facing intense regulatory scrutiny.

  The tech giant abandoned its hostile takeover bid after facing intense regulatory scrutiny.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They made a hostile take over of the small competitor.

  ✓ They staged a hostile takeover of the small competitor.

  'Takeover' is a noun in this context and should be written as one word. Additionally, verbs like 'stage', 'launch', or 'attempt' are typically paired with it, rather than 'make'.

• ✗ The company was hostile taken over last week.

  ✓ The company was taken over hostilely last week.

  You cannot use the adjective 'hostile' directly to modify the verb phrase 'taken over' in this passive construction. It must be converted to an adverb, or the sentence must be restructured to use the noun 'hostile takeover'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The startup managed to ward off a ___ by finding a friendly investor.

  💡 An unwanted acquisition attempt

  Show answer

  hostile takeover

• When the board rejected the merger offer, the buyer decided to launch a ___.

  💡 Going directly to shareholders against management's wishes

  Show answer

  hostile takeover