Watered stock

1869 stock certificate of the Erie Railroad, signed by Jay Gould
Jay Gould, as president of the Erie Railroad, notoriously issued watered stock to defeat a takeover attempt.

Watered stock is an asset with an artificially-inflated value.[1] The term most commonly refers to a form of securities fraud in which a company issues stock to someone before receiving at least the par value in payment.[2]

Historically, stock watering was prevalent in the 19th century rail industry in the United States.[3][4]

  1. ^ McCormack, Alfred. 1931. "Review of Stock Watering: The Judicial Valuation of Property for Stock-Issue Purposes". The Yale Law Journal. 40, no. 8: 1344–1345.
  2. ^ Dodd, David L. Stock Watering: The Judicial Valuation of Property for Stock-Issue Purposes. New York: Columbia University Press, 1930.
  3. ^ Ripley, William Z. (1911). "Stock Watering". Political Science Quarterly. 26 (1): 98–121. doi:10.2307/2141396. ISSN 0032-3195.
  4. ^ Greene, Thomas L. (1891). "Railroad Stock-Watering". Political Science Quarterly. 6 (3): 474–492. doi:10.2307/2139489. ISSN 0032-3195.

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