Greenmail springleaf

A blast from the past!

Greenmail and Springleaf are two companies that were once prominent in the financial services industry, particularly in the United States.

Greenmail

Greenmail was a financial services company that was founded in 1984 and was known for its hostile takeover tactics. The company's name "Greenmail" was coined because of its practice of making large cash offers to the shareholders of target companies, effectively "greenmailing" them to sell their shares and abandon their company's independence. Greenmail's strategy was to acquire companies at a premium price, often using debt financing, and then break them up or sell off their assets to realize a quick profit.

Greenmail's most notable acquisition was the 1988 takeover of Beatrice Foods, a large food and beverage company. The company's aggressive tactics and high debt levels ultimately led to its downfall, and it filed for bankruptcy in 1990.

Springleaf

Springleaf was a consumer finance company that was founded in 1960 and was known for its credit card and loan products. The company was originally called Household Finance Corporation and was one of the largest consumer finance companies in the United States. In 1992, the company changed its name to Springleaf and began to focus more on its credit card business.

Springleaf was acquired by Citigroup in 1998 for $2.6 billion. At the time, it was one of the largest acquisitions in the consumer finance industry. Citigroup later sold Springleaf's credit card portfolio to Capital One in 2006.

Today, the term "greenmail" is still used to describe the practice of making large cash offers to shareholders to influence the outcome of a takeover bid. However, the term "Springleaf" is largely a relic of the past, and the company is no longer a major player in the financial services industry.