tender offer

1. Bid or offer submitted in response to an invitation to bid (ITB) or request for tenders.

2. Formal, open offer by publicly traded corporation to buy back its own outstanding securities at a stated price and within a stated timeframe.

3. Formal, open offer by a private or publicly-traded corporation to the shareholders of a publicly-traded corporation to buy their shares usually at an attractive premium above the share current market price. Such tender offers are often a key element of a takeover strategy and are usually made subject to (1) the offerer (bidder) being able to acquire at least a minimum number of shares, and (2) automatic expiration of the offer after a certain maximum number of shares have been acquired.