Investopedia

Continue to Site »

In Play

Filed Under » ,
Dictionary Says

Definition of 'In Play'

A slang phrase used to describe a firm who has become a potential takeover target or has put itself up for sale. Once a bid is made, a company is put "in play" and will often attract additional bidders.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'In Play'

When a firm becomes a potential takeover target, its share price will typically increase on the expectations of being bought out. For example, in the late 1980s, management at RJR Nabisco felt the share price was unjustifiably low, so it made a bid to take the company private. This bid put the company in play, soliciting numerous other bids, sending RJR Nabisco's share price through the roof.

Articles Of Interest

  1.

    Mergers And Acquisitions: Understanding Takeovers

    In the dramatic world of M&As, battleground terms meld with bizarre metaphors to form the language of the game.

  2. Trade Takeover Stocks With Merger Arbitrage

    This high-risk strategy attempts to profit from price discrepancies that arise during acquisitions.

  3. Trademarks Of A Takeover Target

    These tips can lead you to little companies with big prospects.

  4. The Basics Of Mergers And Acquisitions

    Learn what corporate restructuring is, why companies do it and why it sometimes doesn't work.

  5. Warding Off Hostile Takeovers

    The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of hostile corporate takeovers, while highlighting a general course of action against such activity. This article provides basic ...

  6. Joh. A Benckiser Looks To Corner The Coffee Market

    Joh. A Benckiser is paying a huge price for the European coffee maker. What does this mean for the rest of the world's coffee manufacturers?

  7. Dominion Diamond Goes Shopping - Should You?

    These are exciting times in diamond mining, is it time to buy?

  8. Verizon, AT&T And Vodafone – Here We Go Again

    A popular rumor gets new life with word that AT&T may help Verizon facilitate a buyout of Vodafone.

  9. Buffett And Goldman Sachs Do Sweetheart Deal

    Goldman Sachs announced March 26 that it will issue to Berkshire Hathaway in October the number of shares equal to Warren Buffett's profit from the 2008 warrants he got to purchase 43.5 million ...

  10. Finding Undiscovered Stocks

    Wall Street tends to focus on large cap stocks, leaving other stocks under-followed and undervalued.
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions

  1. Fool In The Shower

    The notion that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once.

  2. Pattern Day Trader

    An SEC designation for traders who trade the same security four or more times per day (buys and sells) over a five-day period, and for whom same-day trades make up at least 6% of their activity for that period.

  3. Cost-Push Inflation

    A phenomenon in which the general price levels rise (inflation) due to increases in the cost of wages and raw materials.

  4. Happiness Economics

    The formal academic study of the relationship between individual satisfaction and economic issues, such as employment and wealth.

  5. Affluenza

    A social condition arising from the desire to be more wealthy, successful or to "keep up with the Joneses." Affluenza is symptomatic of a culture that holds up financial success as one of the highest achievements.

  6. Icarus Factor

    The term Icarus factor describes a situation where managers or executives initiate an overly ambitious project which then fails. Fueled by excitement for the project, the executives are unable to reign in their misguided enthusiasm before it is too late to avoid the failure.
Trading Center