Takeover

A friendly takeover is the opposite of a hostile takeover. A friendly takeover occurs when the offer by the bidder is accepted by the board of directors of the target company and recommended to their shareholders. The board would usually accept an offer from the bidder if the offer is beneficial to and serves the interest of the target company's shareholders.

A reverse takeover is business jargon for a private company taking over a public company. This action is usually seen as the back door strategy or technique for a private company to be floated on the stock market, bypassing the cost of time and money of a conventional IPO (Intial Public Offering - i.e. float).

A takeover is business jargon meaning the purchase of a company (the takeover target) by another company (the bidder or acquirer). Usually, as larger companies are usually public companies listed on a trading stock exchange, takeover also means the acquisition of these types of companies. You can have hostile takeovers, friendly takeovers and reverse takeovers.

A hostile takeover is a takeover which is against the wishes of the target company's board of directors - where the board had rejected the initial offer. A takeover is also considered hostile if the acquirer or the bidder makes an offer without informing the board about their intentions. A hostile takeover is the opposite to a friendly takeover where the joining is seen as beneficial and both companies work together in merging two companies together.