suicide pill

suicide pill definition - business

suicide pill

A poison pill provision so devastating to the target of a takeover attempt that the target company may have to be liquidated to satisfy its creditors. For example, the company's directors may institute a suicide pill giving stockholders the right to exchange their stock for debt if a raider acquires more than a specified percentage of the company's outstanding shares. The tremendous increase in debt will effectively doom the target company if the takeover attempt is successful.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Business Terms Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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