The attitude to foreign takeovers is now considered by studying the contested takeover for Rowntree.

Another specific influence on both share prices and option premiums is the expectation and likelihood of a contested takeover.

This will be particularly important in relation to contested takeovers where the offeror can expect little co-operation from the board of the target.

Irving has hired Kekst & Company, specialists in contested takeover situations, to help with its public relations.

"Indeed there are those who believe that there will be a merger boom characterized by drawn-out contested takeovers."

They may also furnish invaluable information on the target company through their analysts and can provide the manpower and support necessary for a contested takeover.

The contested takeover for Rowntree came in the wake of a series of other moves in the European chocolate industry.

And Northrop's chances of winning a contested takeover battle are undeniably slim: Ohio's new antitakeover laws make it almost impossible to oust a board.

Last year, Rubenstein was engaged by Robert Maxwell, the British press mogul, in his hotly contested takeover of the Macmillan publishing company.

When one firm is sufficiently large it is difficult for another firm to raise the money to buy out all the first firm's shareholders in a contested takeover bid.

Corman represented Texas Air Corporation president Frank Lorenzo in his contested takeover of Continental Airlines.

However, the contested takeover of Imperial by Hanson was not referred to the MMC as it did not adversely affect competition or the 'public interest'.

The company was acquired in 1986 by Guinness P.L.C. for $3.8 billion in a bitterly contested takeover that led to civil and criminal charges of stock market manipulation.

Contested bids are generally viewed in these countries as an unwelcome feature of the UK business environment and, save for France, a contested takeover bid is a rare phenomenon.

This second bid avoided reference to the MMC and thus the way was open for a contested takeover battle between Guinness and Argyll for control of Distillers.

Even where there are a significant number of quoted companies with shareholders that are potentially open to contested offers, there are often major structural and technical obstacles to prevent contested takeovers.

He wants new rules of engagement for contested takeovers, starting with a two-thirds majority vote for a change of control, and a lowering of the disclosure threshold for ownership to 0.5 per cent.

Through Rothschild Inc.'s trading department, which Pirie had set up for the family's extensive bullion operations but also to implement contested takeovers, Goldsmith started accumulating Crown stock in the open market.

Many Shareholder Suits The shareholder suit, one of many resulting from the bitterly contested takeover, charged that U.S. Steel accepted more than 7.7 million shares filed after the deadline.

The decision ends the hotly contested takeover battle for Unocal, the American oil company, and clears the way for Chevron to seal its acquisition of Unocal for about $17 billion in cash and stock.

The inquiries will focus on a suspicious series of share transactions by Derbyshire County Council prior to the bitterly contested takeover by the Miss World group of Piccadilly Radio in Manchester earlier this year.

LEAD: In the first contested takeover of the 1990's, the company I manage, BTR P.L.C., announced its desire to purchase the Norton Company in what securities analysts viewed as a model tender offer.

In that sharply contested takeover, Guinness defeated a bid from the Argyll Group partly because the price of Guinness shares rose strongly in the final days of the fight, lifting the value of Guinness's cash-and-stock offer.

The Guinness takeover of Distillers is studied, not just as an example of a keenly contested takeover, but also as it demonstrated what many saw as the unacceptable sides of takeover activity and the City of London.

The effect of contested takeover bids on a company's share price may be seen from the 139 per cent increase in the price of Rowntree's shares during the first six months of 1988 - the best performance of any share in the FT-SE 100 index.