Online Tender Offers and their Bids – It’s about the competition

Company A wants to buy Company B by buying its shares, so they post offers to the shareholders. However, Company C steps in and says, “I want to get a chance at this as well.” That is when Company C posts a better offer than Company A.

This can be done completely online. Online tender offers and their bids can be viewed as a type of auction. In other words, it is a competition. It is the ability of one company to buy another company for a very reasonable price by offering the shareholders more money than what their shares are worth.

These tender offers are done quite frequently. The most recent one you may recollect is when Microsoft offered to purchase Yahoo! For an amount of money that was slightly above the actual stock price. However, nothing became of the deal. That’s not always the case, though. Tender offers usually follow through because a company will step in with a bid that the shareholders cannot resist. They may even go as far as contacting the shareholders individually.

As for how online tender offers work, Company A will post a tender offer that is fairly reasonable. They do this in order to ward off any competition that may post an even better offer. As the competition increases and so do the tender offers, the bidders will continue until they reach a figure that seems unreasonably high for them and this is usually when a winning bid is determined.

In the end, the shareholders come out pretty good. Through the tender offers, the bidding, and their ultimate payment in the end, their welfare is looking pretty good. Some may consider this to be a hostile takeover, but it depends on how you look at it. Tender offers are a very effective way for one company to acquire another, especially if the company being acquired is in need of the acquisition.

Nevertheless, there will always be those who view online tender offers and those who are bidding as monsters looking to make a quick dollar. Although they are spending money, it is common knowledge that spending that money will make more in the end.

As for the shareholders, they can re-invest into the new company. What they do with their money is up to them. Many times, they are offered a cash offer in which they can take the cash and walk away. If you’re thinking, “Well, tender offers more or less look at the shareholders as the owners of the company.” This is because shareholders do own shares of a company. That is why the company wanting to buy Company B has to consult with those who own shares. When there are multiple companies bidding on tender offers, then the shareholders will end up with multiple phone calls.

It is a rather fascinating practice and one that can move things along when taking over a company. If the shareholders say yes to the tender offers that are thrown their way, then the company must be sold.