creeping tender offer
Creeping tender offer
The process by which a group attempting to circumvent certain provisions of the Williams Act gradually acquires shares of a target company in the open market.
creeping tender offer
The purchase of a target firm's stock at varying prices in the open market rather than through a formal tender offer. Most shares are often acquired in large blocks from arbitrageurs, frequently resulting in the exclusion of small stockholders from the offer. The purpose of a creeping tender offer is to gain control of a firm's stock more cheaply and quickly than an ordinary tender offer permits. See also Williams Act.