Section 616Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

Off‑market bids and market bids

(1) There are 2 kinds of takeover bid:

(a) an off‑market bid (for quoted or unquoted securities); or

(b) a market bid (only available for quoted securities).

Note: Although the prohibition in section 606 is against acquiring relevant interests in voting shares, a takeover bid may be made for any securities (for example, as a preliminary to compulsorily acquiring securities in that class under Part 6A.1).

(2) The following table shows where to find the provisions dealing with the main features of the offers that may be made under off‑market bids and market bids and the procedures to be followed:

Takeover bids

[signpost table]

Feature

Off‑market bid

Market bid

1

people to whom offers made

617(1)‑(2)

617(3)

2

securities covered

618(1)‑(2)

618(3)

3

consideration offered for the securities

621(1), (3)‑(5) and 651A

621(2), (3)‑(5)

4

escalation agreements and collateral benefits not allowed

622 and 623

622 and 623

5

offer period

624(1)‑(2) and 650C

624(1)‑(2) and 649C

6

conditional offers

625(2)‑(3) and 626‑630

625(1)

7

procedure to be followed in making bid

632 and 633

634 and 635

8

acceptances

650E and 653A‑653B

‑

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 17 May 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.

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