Whitemail Explained

Whitemail is a term coined backwards from blackmail.^[1] It is typically used in the sense of economics as a counter to a hostile merger but also has meanings in marketing, fundraising, and bribery.

Economics

In economics, whitemail is a counter to a takeover arrangement in which the target company will sell significantly discounted stock to a friendly third party. In return, the third party helps thwart takeover attempts by raising the acquisition price for the opposing bidder, diluting the opposing bidder's number of shares, and increasing the stock holdings of the company.^{[2] [3]}

Politics

Whitemail bribes are used to influence a high-level elected official or politician to perform an illegal or uneconomic act. This type of bribery is common in many developed and developing countries.^[4] It typically involves a large amount of money and is usually concealed through means such as fake accounting and documentation or moving the money through subsidiaries.^[5]

Fundraising

In fundraising, whitemail is a donation received without a response form, coupon, statement, or other source identification, so it cannot be attributed to any particular fundraising campaign. These donations often come in generic, white-colored envelopes.^[6]

Marketing

Whitemail refers to unsolicited mail sent to marketers from customers. It was also named for coming in generic white envelopes instead of official reply mail offered by companies.^[7]

Further reading

• Horsburgh . H. J. N. . Moral black- and whitemail . Inquiry . March 1975 . 18 . 1 . 23–38 . 10.1080/00201747508601748.
• Horsburgh . H. J. N. . Moral Black- and Whitemail . 460. Philosophy of Science . September 1976 . 43 . 3 . 10.1086/288705 . 224841164 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Lieber . Rochelle . The Oxford Handbook of Derivational Morphology . Stekauer . Pavol . 2014-09-25 . OUP Oxford . 978-0-19-165178-6 . en.
2. Book: Scott, David Logan . Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor . 2003 . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt . 978-0-618-17651-9 . en.
3. Book: Vallabhaneni, S. Rao . Wiley CIA 2022 Exam Review, Part 3: Business Knowledge for Internal Auditing . 2021-10-19 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-1-119-84621-5 . en.
4. Shahabuddin . Syed . June 2002 . The Causes and Consequences of Bribery in International Business . . 19 . 2 . 366–376 . . ProQuest.
5. Book: Fatehi, Kamal . Managing Internationally: Succeeding in a Culturally Diverse World . 2008 . SAGE . 978-1-4129-3690-3 . en.
6. Web site: O'Neill . Kerry . 2018-08-02 . 3 Whitemail Best Practices for Your Charity . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210622211517/https://www.truesense.com/ringer/3-whitemail-best-practices-for-your-charity . 2021-06-22 . 2024-03-02 . truesense.com.
7. Web site: Friesen . Pat . 2006-11-01 . The Wonders of White Mail . 2024-03-03 . www.adweek.com . en-US.