BOUGHT DEAL

noun (Business World) In financial jargon, an arrangement for marketing an issue of bonds or shares, in which a securities house buys up all the stock (often after tendering against other houses) and then resells it at an agreed price. Etymology: Formed by compounding; the issuer of the shares can be sure that the whole deal will be bought in advance. History and Usage: A practice which originated in the US in the early eighties, the bought deal soon proved attractive to companies in the UK as well as an alternative to the standard rights issue; however, the legal right of shareholders to first refusal on new issues of shares in the UK gave it limited applicability. The American 'bought deal' might become the norm for equity issues as well as for fixed interest loans. The Times 11 Sept. 1986, p. 23