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Glite Dictionary
suicide pill

suicide pill

8.2
A planned action by a company to make itself less attractive to a buyer even if it harms the company
  • noun
  • /ˈsuːɪˌsaɪd pɪl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : píldora suicida
  • The company considered adopting a suicide pill to prevent a hostile takeover bid.

Examples

  • Some analysts criticized the board's suicide pill strategy as too risky for shareholders.

  • Activating the suicide pill could severely damage the company's long-term prospects.

  • The board decided to implement a suicide pill to prevent a takeover.

  • Companies often use a suicide pill strategy during hostile takeovers.

  • The company considered adopting a suicide pill to prevent a hostile takeover bid.

  • Activating the suicide pill could severely damage the company's long-term prospects.

  • Some analysts criticized the board's suicide pill strategy as too risky for shareholders.

Synonyms

poison pill
vssuicide pill
  • Jargon
3 7.9

To make it hard for another company to take control by making the company's shares less attractive

causes heavy self-inflicted financial harm to block takeover attempts

Surface Forms

suicide pill singular
suicide pills plural

Morphology

suicide + pill

Knowing 'suicide' (self-destruction) and 'pill' (a measure or metaphorical agent) lets a B1 learner infer a general sense of a measure that causes self-harm, so the overall idea of a self-destructive action is reasonably derivable. However, the specific business nuance — an anti‑takeover corporate tactic that deliberately makes a company less attractive to acquirers — is jargon-specific and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Suicide pill comes from the literal image of a small pill a soldier or spy might take to commit suicide rather than be captured. In business, it is used for a plan that 'kills' the company itself, a risky move that harms the firm to stop a takeover.