dawn raid

In business, sudden and unexpected buying of a significant proportion of a company's shares, usually as a prelude to a takeover bid. The aim is to prevent the target company from having time to organize opposition to the takeover.

‘Corporate raiders’ have gotten bolder and more numerous since the deregulation efforts of the Reagan administration. These acquisitions are ostensibly controlled and monitored by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and governed under antitrust laws. Recent court decisions have made mergers easier in the US. See also leveraged buyout; poison pill; white knight.