Kamikaze Defense

During World War II, Japanese fighter pilots would sometimes use their airplanes—and therefore themselves—as weapons, flying straight into a target and exploding it—and therefore themselves—all over the place. These fighter pilots were known as “kamikazes,” which should give everyone out there an inkling as to what a “kamikaze defense” is all about.

No, it has nothing to do with literally flying fighter planes into combat targets. It has more to do with avoiding a company takeover by (hopefully only temporarily) making one's own organization so severely unattractive that the would-be acquirer doesn’t want it anymore. We’re not looking to self-destruct here, but we are willing to do some serious self-harm if that’s what it takes to get the acquirer to go away.

So how would we do this? Maybe we start selling off our assets: the things that make our company unique and wonderful and desirable. Maybe we start taking out a bunch of loans, racking up debt that we may or may not be able to pay off. Maybe we run out and buy ourselves a small, failing company in hopes that it will decrease our share value.

None of these things are good for our shareholders, or for our business, generally speaking, but if they help us avoid being taken over by another organization, then we might just be able to put ourselves back together after the acquisition threat has passed. At least, that’s the goal.