A tender offer is one method of accomplishing an acquisition. In the typical situation, a buyer or an affiliated entity of the buyer will commence a “tender offer,” under which shareholders are given the option of “tendering” their shares for a given price. Normally, the tender offer will remain open for at least 20 business days. If enough shareholders accept the buyer’s offer within the allotted tender offer period, then the purchasing party will be able to complete the transaction without any further action from the non-tendering stockholders. Companies utilize this mechanism if they want to complete the transaction on an accelerated basis.