poison pill

Definition of poison pill

: a financial tactic or provision used by a company to make an unwanted takeover prohibitively expensive or less desirable

Examples of poison pill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Goering committed suicide by swallowing a poison pill in his cell the night before. — The Salt Lake Tribune, "Germany marks 75th anniversary of landmark Nuremberg trials," 20 Nov. 2020 Goering committed suicide by swallowing a poison pill in his cell the night before. — David Rising, Star Tribune, "Germany marks 75th anniversary of landmark Nuremberg trials," 19 Nov. 2020 Even so, Cubic’s board of directors emphasized that the poison pill is tailored to allow the board to consider fair buyout offers. — Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cubic Corp. in the crosshairs of activist investor-led takeover attempt," 21 Sep. 2020 The poison pill stops Elliott from accumulating more shares to gain leverage during discussions. — Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cubic Corp. in the crosshairs of activist investor-led takeover attempt," 21 Sep. 2020 Cubic amended is corporate bylaws on Sunday to adopt a temporary poison pill. — Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cubic Corp. in the crosshairs of activist investor-led takeover attempt," 21 Sep. 2020 In Washington on Monday, China’s new export measures were widely seen as a potential poison pill for the TikTok deal. — Mike Isaac, New York Times, "TikTok Deal Faces Complications as U.S. and China Ratchet Up Tit-for-Tat," 31 Aug. 2020 That led the chain to adopt a poison pill in 2012 to ward off Biglari, or anyone else, from acquiring control of the chain without offering a premium to all shareholders. — Patrick Danner, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio investor Sardar Biglari takes on Cracker Barrel again," 24 Aug. 2020 The policy bears all the signs of a poison pill designed to force New START’s demise while obscuring the cause. — Jessica T. Mathews, The New York Review of Books, "The New Nuclear Threat," 22 July 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poison pill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near poison pill

poison-pen letter

poison rye grass

Statistics for poison pill

Last Updated

29 Nov 2020

Cite this Entry

“Poison pill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison%20pill. Accessed 30 Nov. 2020.

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More Definitions for poison pill

poison pill

noun

English Language Learners Definition of poison pill

business : something that a company does to make itself less valuable or appealing in order to avoid being bought by another company

See the full definition for poison pill in the English Language Learners Dictionary

poison pill

poi·son pill

Legal Definition of poison pill

: a financial tactic or provision used by a company to make an unwanted takeover prohibitively expensive or less desirable

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