Yellow Knight

What is ‘Yellow Knight’

A company that was once making a takeover attempt but ends up discussing a merger with the target company. Yellow knights have various reasons for backing out of the takeover attempt, but frequently are attributable to the target company’s ability to fend off takeover. The “yellow” in “yellow knight” may refer to the color’s association with cowardice. Since a yellow knight backs down from a takeover attempt and retreats to merger discussions, a yellow knight may be viewed as weak.

Explaining ‘Yellow Knight’

In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), various colored knights are used to identify the nature of a takeover or potential takeover. A black knight is a company that makes a hostile takeover offer for the target company. A white knight makes a friendly takeover offer to a target company that is being faced with a hostile takeover. A gray knight (sometimes spelled grey knight) is a second unsolicited bidder in a corporate takeover.

Further Reading

  • Response of yellow perch to changes in the benthic invertebrate community of western Lake Erie – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • Do water level fluctuations influence production of walleye and yellow perch young-of-the-year in large northern lakes? – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • The Shortage of China's Peasant-workers, and the Surplus of the Rural Labor Force in China [J] – en.cnki.com.cn [PDF]
  • “I could Paint Still Life as well as any one on Earth”: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the World of Art – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • Mushroom Consumption Behavior and Influencing Factors in a Sample of the Portuguese Population – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • Exploring the financial value of a reputation for corporate social responsibility during a crisis – link.springer.com [PDF]