There is no legal requirement for a bidder to have committed funding before announcing an offer, although the sources and amount of funds, as well as any material conditions attached to the financing, must be publicly disclosed.

Is it common on a recommended bid for the target, or the bidder, to agree to pay a break fee if the bid is not successful?

If the board of the target company recommends a bid, is it common to have a formal agreement between the bidder and target? If so, what are the main issues that are likely to be covered in the agreement? To what extent can a target board agree not to soli

Any person (or group of persons acting together) acquiring more than 5% of any class of a target's equity securities that is registered with the SEC is required to notify the SEC within ten days of the acquisition