A firm often has stockholders and bondholders. In a liquidation, the bondholders have first priority. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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a person or organization that owns bonds:
• The company can seek bankruptcy court approval for a reorganization plan if it receives approval from at least half of the bondholders
ˌjunior ˈbondholder FINANCE
a bondholder who will only be repaid after other lenders if the borrower gets into financial difficulty:
• The airline cannot purchase junior bondholders' debt until it has paid all the senior note defaults.
ˌsenior ˈbondholder FINANCE
a bondholder who will be repaid before other lenders are repaid if the borrower gets into financial difficulty
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bondholder UK US /ˈbɒndhəʊldər/ US /ˈbɑːndhoʊldɚ/ noun [C] FINANCE
► a person or organization that owns a bond: »
Those who manage the money have a responsibility to bondholders to repay them on time.
Financial and business terms. 2012.