A cynic might suggest the current proliferation of auctions has more to do with helping advisers – bankers, that is – who have come up with a brilliant wheeze to drag out deals that would once have gone through as no-fuss trade sales or secondary buy-outs.
For lawyers, auctions have proved something of a double-edged sword, being tricky to budget for, particularly if you are a head of corporate, with a team handling multiple bids at the same time with little chance of knowing if you backed the right horse.
