bear hug
1
8.1
- noun
- /bɛr hʌg/
- Jargon
:
oferta hostil
Examples
-
Bench role players are usually the unsung heroes, and it was fitting to get that bear hug by Werth in the dugout after the game on a job well done.
Blog text (5) -
The company's directors felt they had no choice but to accept the bear hug from the rival firm due to shareholder pressure.
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After receiving a bear hug offer, the board convened to discuss the implications for the company's future.
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Investors were thrilled when the acquisition included a bear hug that promised an attractive buyout price.
Synonyms
4
4.2
An offer to buy enough shares in a company to gain control
2
7.5
An offer to buy a company's shares at a higher price than the market
1
5.9
An offer to buy all the shares a person or company owns in a business
Antonyms
How Attractive
- Jargon
1
8.1
- Specialized
1
4.4
218
1.4
- Informal
8
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
bear + hug
This is a finance-specific metaphor: the sense 'an aggressive acquisition offer' cannot be compositionally derived from 'bear' (a market pessimist) plus 'hug' (an embrace). Even if learners know the constituent words, the institutional/financial meaning is idiomatic and not predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Bear hug uses the same strong image: imagine a huge bear holding something so tightly it cannot get away, and people in business used that picture for an offer that is hard to refuse. So, the business 'bear hug' means 'an offer that forces a company to accept because it is so attractive'.