bear hug

Bear hug

Often used in risk arbitrage. Hostile takeover attempt in which the acquirer offers an exceptionally large premium over the market value of the acquiree's shares so as to as to squeeze (hug) the target into acceptance.

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bear hug

A buyout offer so favorable to stockholders of a company targeted for acquisition that there is little likelihood they will refuse the offer. Not only does a bear hug offer a price significantly above the market price of the target company's stock, but it is likely to offer cash payments as well. See also takeover.

Case Study Following rejection by the General Motors board of an EchoStar Communications takeover proposal for GM-controlled Hughes Electronics, owner of DirectTV, EchoStar soon made another surprise bid to acquire Hughes. At the time of the bid Hughes's equity was trading on the New York Stock Exchange as a tracking stock. The second bid, announced with a public letter addressed to the GM board, was a bear hug offer made directly to Hughes's stockholders. Believing that General Motors directors were likely to recommend a sale of Hughes to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., EchoStar felt it could only be successful by offering a higher price to Hughes's shareholders. The higher price would appeal to Hughes's shareholders and make it more difficult for GM directors to recommend a sale at a lower price to another company. GM directors rejected the earlier EchoStar offer in part because they felt the combination of DirectTV and EchoStar would be unacceptable on an antitrust basis. Rupert Murdoch later pulled out of the bidding for Hughes.