Just like going into battle during World War II, a blitzkrieg (German for lightning war) is a takeover offer that is so attractive to shareholders that the acquirer hopes they can bypass the board of directors to get approval.
So yeah...think: lightning fast. A blitzkrieg tender offer is available "For a Limited Time Only!!!" For example, if a target company’s current stock price is $10, a blitzkrieg tender offer might be for $15, hoping they can acquire at least 51% of the shares.
The Williams Act of 1968 defeated the blitzkrieg tactic by requiring the company wanting to take over to provide details in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. In the filing, they have to say where the cash to buy is coming from (i.e. probably shouldn't be from a bank heist), and plans for the company after the takeover. The acquiring company must also give at least 20 business days for the target company to respond to the offer.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is the All Holders Rule?4 Views
Finance a la shmoop, what is the all holders rule? No this is not about
post-coital rules of engagement.. The holder here is about those holding stock [Two peoples heads pop out from under a duvet and a stop sign appears]
in a company in this case likely holding stock in a company where a contentious
takeover bid has come in from the cold cruel world outside with a bidder [Pacman]
wanting to pay $17 and 23 cents a share for about a $2 premium over where the
stock was trading yesterday while a rival set of shareholders want more like
20 bucks a share to sell the iPod hearing aid company to just you know [Billboard for the iPod hearing aid company]
sell and go away. Well the all holders rule came along as part of the 1934 Act
if the SEC was establishing granular rules so that the legally [Two people in suits walking down a corridor]
unsophisticated weren't turned into lunch when the hungry Wall Street wolves [A wolf appears and drags one of them away]
got a hankering for deals. So what's the rule with all holders, well it's simply
that all holders of the same exact class of security. i.e. basic common stock have
to be offered the same deal that is one offer can't be given to the people who [Good offer document is given to Company A]
wanted to sell at just 17 dollars and 23 cents and then some other punitive deal [Bad deal given to Company B]
like is offered to the others like you know.. if you don't take this by 4:00 p.m.
next Thursday we'll teepee your homes and then offer at most 16 bucks a share [Angry looking guy in a suit]
going down a dime a week until you say uncle, or aunt yeah well that's the all
holders rule. All holders get the same deal.
Up Next
The Williams Act is federal legislation enacted to make acquisitions and/or takeovers fair. Nothing to do with tennis...sorry about that, tennis fans.
A tender offer occurs when the government, or a large corporation, "tenderly" asks for bids, and then investors, uh... do their bidding.