Investopedia

Continue to Site »

Jonestown Defense

Filed Under » ,
Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Jonestown Defense'

A defensive strategy by which the target company engages in an activity that might actually ruin the company rather than prevent the hostile takeover. Also known as a "suicide pill."
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Jonestown Defense'

The term refers to the 1978 Jonestown massacre, where a religious cult (the People's Temple) led by Jim Jones committed mass suicide in Guyana.

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. What happens to the stock prices of two companies involved in an acquisition?

    When a firm acquires another entity, there usually is a predictable short-term effect on the stock price of both companies. In general, the acquiring company's stock will fall while the target ...

  3. The Basics Of Mergers And Acquisitions

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

  4. Arbitrage Squeezes Profit From Market Inefficiency

    This influential strategy capitalizes on the relationship between price and liquidity.

  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. Validation Period

    The amount of time necessary for the premium on an insurance policy to cover the commissions, the cost of investigation, medical exams and other expenses associated with the issuance of the policy.

  2. Winner's Curse

    Because of incomplete information, emotions or any other number of factors regarding the item being auctioned, bidders can have a difficult time determining the item's intrinsic value. As a result, the largest overestimation of an item's value ends up winning the auction.

  3. Glocalization

    A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization" used to describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market.

  4. Disaster Loss

    A special type of tax-deductible loss, similar to a casualty loss, where a loss has been incurred by taxpayers who reside in an area that has been designated as a federal disaster area by the President.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.
Trading Center