From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtakeovertake‧o‧ver /ˈteɪkˌəʊvə $ -ˌoʊvər/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 BBCwhen one company takes control of another by buying more than half its shares Thornbury has announced a takeover bid of a regional TV company. He prevented a hostile takeover (=when the takeover is not wanted by the company being bought) of the company.2 PGCONTROLan act of getting control of a country or political organization, using force a communist takeover
Examples from the Corpus
takeover• A Court Scheme represents an alternative to a takeover offer as a method of acquiring control of a public company.• It was doubtless because the government was then concerned about possible foreign reaction to a takeover.• Lurking in the background, too, are the constant takeover rumors about the bank, the largest in Florida.• In this sector, he also thinks software concern Davidson & Co. might make an interesting takeover play.• Harrison said a crucial issue was the continued speculation that Fairfax was a prime takeover target.• Since March 1989 and prior to the takeover late last year, Hawker reduced its head-count dramatically.hostile takeover• T Cowie was not successful in its £32m hostile takeover bid for Henlys.• But it's now facing a hostile takeover bid by a Suffolk based-brewery, Greene King.• The Abingdon-based Morland brewers will know tomorrow if they've managed to fight off a hostile takeover bid.• The only way they can protect themselves against hostile takeovers is to get the stock price up.• Jobs under threat ... Dowty loses the hostile takeover battle.• On the other hand sentiment is changing the way in which hostile takeovers are regarded.From Longman Business Dictionarytakeovertake‧o‧ver /ˈteɪkˌəʊvə-ˌoʊvər/ noun [countable] FINANCE the act of getting control of a company by buying over 50% of its sharesTo avoid a takeover, the investment company went deeply in debt to pay a huge special dividend.There was a takeover bid by a larger and more aggressive company.an anti-takeover plan (=one to try and avoid a takeover)If one company acquires another, it buys it or takes it over. A buyout is when a person or organization buys a business. An employee/staff buyout is when employees buy the company they work for. A management buyout is when a company’s senior managers buy the company they work for. A leveraged buyout is when a person or organization buys a company using a loan borrowed against the company’s assets, some of which may then be sold to pay off the loan. In order to avoid a takeover, a company may use a poison pill (=something in a company’s financial or legal structure that makes it difficult for another company to take it over). Other actions taken by companies to prevent a hostile takeover include the crown jewels defence British English, in which a company sells important assets cheaply to a supporter, so that the company is less attractive to buy, and then buys them back later when the takeover is less likely to happen, or the Pacman defense American English, in which a company that is the target of a takeover buys the shares of the company that is trying to take it over. A merger is an occasion when two or more companies or organizations join together to form a larger company. → creeping takeover → friendly takeover → hostile takeover → leveraged takeover → reverse takeover → unfriendly takeover 