Bear Hug

Bear hug is really something you expect a financial advisor to offer you, but it does happen between businesses (cute, huh?).

A bear hug refers to an overly generous purchase offer from one company to another. Usually this is done when the target company (the one being pursued) is anticipated to be reluctant to sell. It's designed to put the target company management in a position where they have to sell, because if they don't accept all that extra cash, they're not looking after their shareholders in the best way possible financially (costing them money, in essence).

Despite the cuddly name, this is considered a form of hostile takeover because of the position it puts the target company in. It's like starting with a hug, but ending in a forced hand (talk about passive aggressive, right?).