Idioms and business metaphors

Saturday night special

A sudden attempt by one company to take over another one by making a public tender offer

Raider

An organization or a person that attempts to exploit a company with undervalued assets by making a hostile takeover bid

Dawn raid

When a firm or investor aims to buy a substantial holding in a takeover target-company’s equity by instructing brokers to buy the shares as soon as the stock markets open

Bear hug

To squeeze the directors into submission

Shark repellent

Strategies that a company can use when it doesn’t want to be taken over; includes affecting the value of the target’s stock in some way

Golden parachute

Discouraging and unwanted takeover by offering lucrative benefits to the current top executives who may lose their job if the company is taken by another firm

Green mail

Situation when a large block of stock is held by an unfriendly company or raider who then forces the target company to repurchase the stock st a substantial premium to destroy any takeover attemp

People pill

Situation when management threatens that in the event of a takeover, the management team will resign in the same time, en masse

Poison pill

Situation when the target company aims at making its owns stock less attractive to the acquirer

Flip-in poison pill

Situation when existing shareholders are allowed to buy more shares at a discount and the goal is to dilute the shares held by the bidder and make the takover bid more expensive and difficult

Flip-over poison pill

Situation when the stockholders buy the aquirer's shares at a discounted price in the event of a merger

Suicide pill

Term referring to the chance that the takeover-target company may take actions which may lead to its ultimate destruction

Macaroni defence

A tactic by which the target company issues a large number of bonds that come with the guarantee that they will be redeemed at a higher price the company is taken over

Scorched-earth defence

A form of risk arbitrage and anti-takeover strategy whereby a target firm makes an effort to make it unattractive to the hostile bidder

Crowned jewels

Valuable assets

Nancy Reagan Defence

A tactic when the board of the directors of the target company meets to consider the bid, they “just say no”

Lady Macbeth strategy

A corporate-takeover strategy with which a third party poses as a white knight to gain trust, but then turns around and joins with unfriendly bidders

Pac-Man defence

A tactic when a company that is under a hostile takeover acquiers its would-be buyer

Black Knight

A company that tries to take control of another company by offering to buy large numbers of its shares

White Knight

A company which offers the target firm a way out with a friendly takeover

War chest

Reserve of cash a corporation sets aside to attempt a takeover or to defend against a hostile takover

White Squire

Company which helps the target firm with the influx of capital by buying a minority interest but does not guarantee successful defence

Grey Knight

Company which tries to worm into the deal through any cracks in the relationship between the first bidder and the target

Yellow Knight

Firm that goes from attempting a hostile takeover to discussing a merger

Sleeping beauty

Company which is a valuable takeover target but has not been approached yet

To be in dire straits

To be in a very difficult situation

Left high and dry

To put someone in a very difficult situation they cannot escape from

A sea change

A big and sudden change

The tide is turning

People’s opinion/a situation is changing

Drop in the ocean

Very small amount that will not have much effect

A wave of

A large number of

At all sea

Confused and not certain what to do

Come hell or high water

Even though there may be problems/difficulties

To make waves

To cause problems by making suggestions/criticism

Against a brick wall

To not be able to continue an activity or to do smth you want to do

On your doorstep

In someone’s care; as someone’s responsibility

On the tiles

To enjoy yourself by going to things like parties or dances

To lay the foundations

To produce the basic ideas or structures from which smth much larger develops

To have foundation

To have the basis or groundwork or anything

A foot in the door

To complete the first step in a process

To hit the roof

To suddenly become very angry

Through the back door

Illegally or dishonestly

Like a ton of bricks

Like a great weight or burden

To cement relationship

To make a relationship, idea etc. stronger or more certain

To clean up your own backyard

To rid smth of dirt, filth or other impurities

To tower over

To be much greater or more important than

A gateway to success

Smth which gives the opportunity to make progress or get further success in that activity

Keys to improvement

Most important ways to improve

(To offer) a window to/on

(To offer) smth that makes it possible to see or understand smth clearly

Symptom

Sign/indicator

To diagnose

To identify/conclude

Illness

Malaise

Medical history

Track record

Course of treatment

Culture/regime

Life-style

Policy/strategy

Recovery

Turn-around

Health

Stability/success

Medical consultant

Business doctor

Terminally-ill patient

Lame duck

Ailing/sick

Having a lof of problems, especially financial

Anaemic

Weak, ineffective

Surgery

Structural reform or distorted economic parts

To heal wounds

To recover from a damaging experience

To limp along

To continue to exist or function but with obvious difficulty

To cripple

To damage an organization so severely that it becomes impossible to function normally

To suffer

To experience smth very unpleasant or painful

Paralysed

Unable to function or improve at all

To give a clean bill of health

An assurance that smth is in good position

Growing

Becoming more i important or serious

To come to fruition

To produce results

To sow the seeds

To deliberately start or create

Green shoots

Signs of improvements

Thorny

Very difficult

To dig out

To discover facts that have been lost, hidden or kept a secret

To stem from

To arise from

To plough into

To invest a lot of smth in order to improve it or make it successful

To weed out

To remove, take out from a group that are not good enough

To cut back on

To reduce the amount of smth that you use to thrive

To flourish

To be very successful

To branch out into

To expand, diversify

Bear fruit

Good results from your effort

To pull no punches

To not hold back in one’s criticism

Below the belt

Not fair

On the ropes

Doing bad and likely to fail

Saved by the bell

Saved by the timely intervention of someone or smth to signal that one is going to quit

Throw in the towel

To give up, to stop pursuing an objective

To keep moving the goalposts

Changing the terms of a debate or a conflict after it has started

A level playing field

A sitatuon that is fair to all; a situation where everyone has the same opportunity

To back the wrong horse

To support someone or smth that cannot win or succeed

Par for the course

Typical; about what one could expect

Horses for courses

Smth that you say which means that it is important to choose suitable people for particular activities because everyone has different skills

To touch base

To talk to someone; to confer with someone briefly

Neck and neck

Exactly even, especially in a race or a contest

A major player

A very influential person or group; a leading company or individual in a particular market or industry

To keep (people) onside

To persuade people to support you or to continue to support you

Heavyweight

A person of great importance or influence

To drop the ball

To commit a faux pas or a fault, or make a serious mistake

To play ball

To cooperate

The ball's in your court

To be someone else’s move, play or turn

On the ball

Knowledgeable, competent, attentive