Unocal Corporation
Mesa Petroleum had made a front-end loaded two-tiered hostile bid for Unocal Corporation in which the front end was $54 in cash, and the back end of the deal was $54 in junk bonds. Because most shareholders would prefer to receive the cash instead of the bonds, shareholders were expected to tender their shares into the deal, even if they did not think $54 was a fair price. If a shareholder declined to tender, that shareholder risked being cashed-out for $54 in risky debt instruments instead of cash.