white knight Hear it!

white knight Definition

white knight

noun

a rescuer; specif., a company that prevents a takeover, viewed as unfavorable, of another company by offering better terms for a merger with it

Etymology: after a character in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass

white knight Finance Definition
A company that comes to the defense of another company that is subject to an unwanted merger attempt. A white knight often will purchase the targeted company in order to prevent its merger with the would-be acquirer.
white knight Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • moral: We were the ' moral white knights ' riding in to sort out problems but being heavily selective about what we handled and when.