OFFER
offer,n.1. The act or an instance of presenting something for acceptance <the prosecutor’s offer of immunity>.2. A promise to do or refrain from doing some specified thing in the future, conditioned on an act, forbearance, or return promise being given in exchange for the promise or its performance; a display of willingness to enter into a contract on specified terms, made in a way that would lead a reasonable person to understand that an acceptance, having been sought, will result in a binding contract <she accepted the $750 offer on the Victorian armoire>. Cf. ACCEPTANCE. [Cases: Contracts 16; Sales 22(.5), 23(.5); Vendor and Purchaser 16(1), 17.
C.J.S. Contracts §§ 37–41, 44, 46, 55–56, 58; Sales §§ 29–31, 33; Vendor and Purchaser §§ 9–18.]
“[A]n offer is, in effect, a promise by the offeror to do or abstain from doing something, provided that the offeree will accept the offer and pay or promise to pay the ‘price’ of the offer. The price, of course, need not be a monetary one. In fact, in bilateral contracts, as we explained earlier, the mere promise of payment of the price suffices to conclude the contract, while in a unilateral contract it is the actual payment of the price which is required.” P.S. Atiyah, An Introduction to the Law of Contract 44 (3d ed. 1981).
irrevocable offer (i-rev-<<schwa>>-k<<schwa>>-b<<schwa>>l). An offer that includes a promise to keep it open for a specified period, during which the offer cannot be withdrawn without the offeror’s becoming subject to liability for breach of contract. • Traditionally, this type of promise must be supported by consideration to be enforceable, but under UCC § 2-205, a merchant’s signed, written offer giving assurances that it will be held open — but lacking consideration — is nonetheless irrevocable for the stated period (or, if not stated, for a reasonable time not exceeding three months). — Also termed (in the UCC) firm offer; (specif.) merchant’s firm offer. [Cases: Contracts 16; Sales 22; Vendor and Purchaser 18(.5). C.J.S. Contracts §§ 37–41, 44, 46, 55–56, 58; Sales §§ 29–31, 33; Vendor and Purchaser §§ 98–100, 103–106, 115–116.]
“It has sometimes been asserted that an irrevocable offer is ‘a legal impossibility.’ See Langdell, Summary of the Law of Contracts, § 178, also § 4; Wormser, ‘The True Conception of Unilateral Contracts,’ 26 Yale Law Journal, 137, note; Lee, Title Contracts, in Jenks’ Dig. of Eng. Civ. Law, § 195; Ashley, Contracts, § 13. A close analysis shows that there is nothing impossible either in the conception itself or in its application. If we define ‘offer’ as an act on the part of the offeror …, then no offer can ever be revoked, for it is of yesterday — it is indeed factum. But if we mean by ‘offer’ the legal relation that results from the offeror’s act, the power then given to the offeree of creating contractual relations by doing certain voluntary acts on his part, then the offer may be either revocable or irrevocable according to the circumstances. The idea of an irrevocable power is not at all an unfamiliar one.” William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 53–54 n.3 (Arthur L. Corbin ed., 3d Am. ed. 1919).
offer to all the world.An offer, by way of advertisement, of a reward for the rendering of specified services, addressed to the public at large. • As soon as someone renders the services, a contract is made. — Also termed public offer.
offer to chaffer.See INVITATION TO NEGOTIATE.
public-exchange offer.A takeover attempt in which the bidder corporation offers to exchange
some of its securities for a specified number of the target corporation’s voting shares. Cf. TENDER OFFER. [Cases: Securities Regulation 52.30–52.50. C.J.S. Securities Regulation §§
121–122, 127–128, 131–138, 140–141.] public offer.See offer to all the world.
standing offer.An offer that is in effect a whole series of offers, each of which is capable of
being converted into a contract by a distinct acceptance.
tender offer.See TENDER OFFER. two-tier offer.See TWO-TIER OFFER.
3. A price at which one is ready to buy or sell; BID <she lowered her offer to $200>.4.ATTEMPT(2) <an offer to commit battery>. — offer,vb. — offeror,n.“Where criminal assault has been given this dual scope, a definition in terms of ‘an attempt or offer’ to commit a battery is assumed to represent both grounds. The word ‘offer,’ it is said, signifies a threat that places the other in reasonable apprehension of receiving an immediate battery. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the word carried any such significance when it first appeared in the definition of this offense. In one of its meanings, ‘offer’ is a synonym of ‘attempt.’ ” Rollin M.
Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 163 (3d ed. 1982).
[Blacks Law 8th]