The well-documented battle for Sky plc reached a dramatic conclusion in September when the Takeover Panel ordered a rare ‘sealed bids’ auction, which saw the winning bid come from US media giant Comcast. It is unusual for a public company takeover to be decided by a formal auction. Only a handful of deals, including Tata Steel’s 2008 acquisition of Corus, have been decided in this way.

The takeover process is typically completed following a bid from a potential suitor, which could be either recommended or hostile. The most straightforward takeover would involve the target’s board recommending to its shareholders that they accept the buyer’s offer with no competing offer being made.

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