Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Lady Macbeth Strategy

A corporate-takeover strategy with which a third party poses as a white knight to gain trust, but then turns around and joins with unfriendly bidders. (A white knight is a company that makes a friendly takeover offer to a target company that is being faced with a hostile takeover from a separate party. The knight in shining armor gallops to the rescue!)

Such a strategy is called a Lady Macbeth strategy because Lady Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most frightful and ambitious characters, devises a cunning plan for her husband, the Scottish general, to kill Duncan, the King of Scotland. The success of Lady Macbeth's scheme lies in her deceptive ability to appear noble and virtuous, and thereby secure Duncan's trust in the Macbeths' false loyalty.
Contributed by:
Veena Vishwanathan
Globsyn Business School

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