what is a bear hug letter 
a bear hug is an ambitious tactic that companies use to acquire other companies in some cases they will send a letter to the target company s board and or management team or publicly along with the offer especially if the target is unreceptive to an offer this is called a bear hug letter sending a bear hug letter can be a smart move especially if the offer comes at a significant premium as the board has a fiduciary duty to shareholders the bottom linehostile takeovers are part and parcel of the corporate world the bear hug is just one type of takeover attempt that acquirers use but rather than work their way into the company s board or management by force they usually sweeten the pot by making shareholders an offer that s well above market value by doing this shareholders can then take their reins and force the target s board to either accept or go into talks with the acquirer 