Iceberg Order: A big volume order, structured in a smaller lots, with the mission the real volume of shares bought to be hidden. Usually big institutional investors use this method, who needs to buy/sell big volume of shares. Using this method, the rest of the investors can see only part of the whole deal or the so-called tip of the iceberg. This method prevents drastic movements into the shares’ price in case of drastic changes into their demand and supply.
Bull: An investor who believes that a certain market, share or industry will go up. This kind of investors are optimists and they believe that the market is going to go develop into a upward direction. Their target is to make profit of this market trend. Bulls are exactly the opposite of the bears with their spirit on the market.
Bull market: A market situation, in which the share prices are going up or they are expected to go up. In this scenario the investors are optimists and therefore the number of the buyers prevails which leads to a prices increase. There is no market that can be constantly bull market, therefore always after a period of bull market with prices going up, comes the bears market with prices going down.
White knight: A company which sends an offer for acquiring another company. To which there is already another competitive offer directed. The term comes from the resemblance with the white knight who is galloping to save the princes.
White elephant: Investment that nobody wants because it is not profitable. The term comes from a tradition in Thailand where the albinos elephants were given to the rivals of the king. Since white elephants are sacred animals, they are not supposed to work and therefore they are considered to be a burden for their owners.
Hostile takeover: Attempt for acquiring, when the target company does not agree with the potential buyer. Hostile takeovers are not very good accepted, because it may lead to serious rejections and problems with the employees.
Macaroni defense: A type of defense which a certain company uses in order to protect itself from a potential hostile acquisition. The company undertakes a considerable bond issue with the condition to be paid by the company’s buyer. The term comes from the considerable swelling of the macaroni when they are boiling and it represents the significant growth in the prices of bonds in case of acquisition.
Bear market: A situation on the market, in which the stock prices are going down or they are expected to go down. Bear market is also called the market in which the investors are pessimistic about its development. In such markets prevail buyers who push the prices downwards.
Bear: An investor who believes that certain stocks or markets are going down. Such investors are pessimists and usually they are trying to make profit out of a falling market.
Sheep: An investor who does not have a trading strategy. He mainly trusts his emotions and the others’ opinion. Usually such investors undertake ill-judged and imprecise investments on the market. The term “sheep” comes from the resemblance with the sheep when following the shepherd.
Poison pill: A strategy in which the company which have received a hostile acquisition offer, rejects the buyer. The acquired companies reject their buyers with two types of poison pills: allowing the existing shareholders to buy the company’s stocks with a considerable discount or selling their shares at a much lower price after the acquisition. This makes the takeover attempt much harder and expensive.
Pig: An investment who is considered as greedy and who seems to have forgotten his initial investment strategy. These investors have very optimistic future expectations. The terms comes from the comparison between the pig which regularly overeats and the greedy investor who would not go out of an investment deal even after abrupt changes because of his expectation and belief that the change will bring him even greater profit.
Gray knight: A company which puts forward its over for acquiring another company while the latter is negotiating with a different buyer. Usually such companies take advantage of the problematic points of discussion between the current buyer and the target company.
Blue chip: A jargon, used for companies which are very stable in their sector. Usually the blue chips are characterized by high levels of income and profit and their activity is less dependent on the economy cycling. Traditionally blue chip companies are included in the leading world stock market indexes and are highly preferred by the investors.
Special Saturday night: A surprising attempt for acquiring. It is related to the fact that many of these attempts happen during the weekend so that the excessive publicity is avoided.
Sleeping beauty: A company which is ideal for acquiring but up until now it has not received any offers or enquiries. Such company is called “sleeping beauty” because it has high level of cash, underestimated market value and huge potential, but it is still waiting for its prince to appear.
Black Knight: A company which directs a hostile takeover offer towards another company. The term is related to the bad characters in the fairy-tails, who want to kidnap the princess.
Ostrich: An investor who neglects important information or other factors influencing the market or the stocks’ price. The terms comes from the resemblance with the animal’s behavior which in danger hides its head into the sand.