A shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill", is a type of defensive tactic used by a corporation's board of directors against a takeover.
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another. In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.
Initial public offering (IPO) or stock market launch is a type of public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also retail (individual) investors. An IPO is underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as floating, or going public, a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used to raise new equity capital for companies, to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors, and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded.
Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation. One of the world's largest oil field service companies, it has operations in more than 70 countries. It owns hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands, and divisions worldwide and employs approximately 55,000 people.
Carl Celian Icahn is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified conglomerate holding company based in New York City, formerly known as American Real Estate Partners. He is also Chairman of Federal-Mogul, an American developer, manufacturer and supplier of powertrain components and vehicle safety products.
Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Greenmail or greenmailing is the action of purchasing enough shares in a firm to challenge a firm's leadership with the threat of a hostile takeover to force the target company to buy the purchased shares back at a premium in order to prevent the potential takeover.
Ensign Energy Services Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian company that provides oilfield services for the North American and international market. Founded in 1987, Ensign is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Ensign's Common Shares are publicly traded though the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ESI.
In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corporation to tender their stock for sale at a specified price during a specified time, subject to the tendering of a minimum and maximum number of shares. In a tender offer, the bidder contacts shareholders directly; the directors of the company may or may not have endorsed the tender offer proposal.
In business, a white knight is a friendly investor that acquires a corporation at a fair consideration with the support from the corporation's board of directors and management. This may be during a period while it is facing a hostile acquisition from another potential acquirer or it is facing bankruptcy. White knights are preferred by the board of directors and/or management as in most cases as they do not replace the current board or management with a new board, whereas, in most cases, a black knight will seek to replace the current board of directors and/or management with its new board reflective of its net interest in the corporation's equity.
Cairn Energy PLC is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn has discovered and developed oil and gas reserves in a variety of locations around the world. Cairn Energy has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Sun-Rype Products Ltd. is a Western Canadian fruit-based food and beverage manufacturer. Since its foundation in 1946, Sun-Rype has been producing juices and fruit snacks based in Kelowna, British Columbia, in the Okanagan.
Precision Drilling Corporation is the largest drilling rig contractor in Canada, also providing oil field rental and supplies.
A squeeze-out or squeezeout, sometimes synonymous with freeze-out (freezeout), is the compulsory sale of the shares of minority shareholders of a joint-stock company for which they receive a fair cash compensation.
Seadrill is a deepwater drilling contractor for the petroleum industry. It is incorporated in Bermuda and managed from London. The company operates semi-submersible platforms, jackup rigs and drillships.
Aker Drilling, was a Norwegian drilling rig operation company; based in Stavanger, Norway and majority owned by the Aker Group. It was listed on Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker - 'AKD'.
Willamette Industries, Inc. was a Fortune 500 forest products company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. In 2002, the lumber and paper company was purchased by competitor Weyerhaeuser of Federal Way, Washington in a hostile buyout and merged into Weyerhaeuser's existing operations.
Nabors Industries is a global oil and gas drilling company based in Houston, Texas. Nabors owns the largest land drilling fleet in the world with approximately 400 rigs in more than 20 countries. Company consists of the following business segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies.
The following is a glossary which defines terms used in mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers of companies, whether private or public.
Jowdat Waheed is a senior Canadian mining executive and Chartered Financial Analyst. Waheed worked as Chief Executive Officer of mining company Sherritt. He resigned, for personal reasons, in 2009.
