system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Can this type of attack actually happen?

So, I know that this idea is most likely completely ridiculous, but I'm going to ask this anyways:

Can a foreign government launch several hostile takeover attempts on another country's biggest companies through the stock market either directly through government funds or through intermediaries?

For example, can China launch this type of attack on some American companies either directly or through some of their billionaires? ( they can probably force them to go through with it anyway)

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Just a shower thought.

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Edit: the comment review system of this sub is beyond ridiculous. Who got this genuis idea? I don't want to see the answers to my questions 2 days after the fact.
gpt
It's a possibility, but a well known one, so there are robust defences in place:

 - Most countries have legislation that allows the government to block mergers & acquisitions deemed harmful to the national interest.

 - In certain strategic industries, like defence contractors, they often have either direct stakes or "golden shares" that given them veto powers over certain strategic matters. Some countries, like France, have rather broad definitions of what they consider to be a strategic industry.

 - In other industries, foreign ownership its restricted - in the EU, it's a condition of an airline's operating licence that it remains majority EU-owned. The US restricts foreign ownership of airlines to 25%.

 - They can also forcibly nationalise companies that are perceived as acting in a hostile manner - for example, Gazprom controlled a key gas distributor in Germany. It was believed to be harming German gas security, so the regulator seized control of it.