Corporate Raider Law and Legal Definition
A corporate raider is a person or company that offers or executes a hostile takeover by buying shares directly from shareholders. Often, the corporate raider does not actually intend to take over the target company, but is simply trying to force the board of directors to repurchase shares at a premium to their market value. A corporate raider that accumulates more than 5 percent of a company's outstanding shares must register with the SEC.
When a corporate raider has a controlling interest in a company, it is usually an easy process to convince other stock holders to either go along with the process of company breaking, or to buy the remaining shareholders out. At this point, all obstacles to selling off assets are removed, and the corporate raider can dispose of land, equipment, buildings, and any other assets that need to be converted into cash. A corporate raider is also known as a raider.
