1. People who engage in greenmail; investors who buy a significant stake in a company and threaten a hostile takeover to force the company to repurchase their shares at a premium price.
Usage: plural form; finance/business term; often used pejoratively

Examples

• The board of directors accused the greenmailers of attempting to extort the company.
• Greenmailers accumulated shares in the corporation, hoping to force a buyback at inflated prices.
• The company paid off the greenmailers to prevent a takeover attempt.
• Regulatory changes in the 1980s were designed to discourage greenmailers from targeting vulnerable firms.
• Several greenmailers made substantial profits by threatening hostile acquisitions and then selling their stakes back to the company.