how unsolicited bids work
an unsolicited bid comes about when a potential acquirer takes an interest in a target company and makes a bid to purchase it in this case the bid is the result of the acquirer s initiative rather than at the request of the bid upon company an unsolicited bid to purchase a company not intending to be sold may be followed by other unsolicited bids as the news travels these other bids may up the purchase price and start a bidding war or takeover fight while unsolicited bids may involve private companies many bids are made by publicly traded companies these kinds of bids were popular in the 1980s when many bidders recognized the potential for profit in undervalued companies or those that were mismanaged unsolicited bid vs solicited bidan unsolicited bid may come as a surprise to the target while a solicited bid is the opposite with a solicited bid the target is actively seeking a purchaser and wants to be purchased these kinds of bids are often called friendly takeovers or proposals that are approved by the management of both companies the amount vodafone paid for germany s mannesmann in 2000 after its original unsolicited offer was rejected this is said to be one of the world s largest acquisitions 1