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In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the target) by another (the acquirer, or bidder). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company. Before a bidder makes an offer for another company, it usually first informs that company's board of directors. If the board feels that accepting the offer serves shareholders better than rejecting it, it recommends the offer be accepted by the shareholders. In a private company, the shareholders and the board are usually the same people or closely connected with one another. So, private acquisitions are usually friendly, because if the shareholders agree to sell the company then the board is usually of the same mind or sufficiently under the orders of the shareholders to cooperate with the bidder. This point is not relevant to the UK concept of takeovers, which always involve the acquisition of a public company. If management may not be acting in the best interest of the shareholders (or creditors, in cases of bankrupt firms), a hostile takeover allows a suitor to bypass intransigent management. This enables the shareholders to choose the option that may be best for them, rather than leaving approval solely with management. In this case, a hostile takeover may be beneficial to shareholders, which is contrary to the usual perception that a hostile takeover is "bad."
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