I had staged a two-round sealed-bid auction. In each round, the bidders submitted their bids in a sealed envelope, not knowing what others were offering. The first round weeded out the low bids, the people just fishing. The serious buyers then got to review the target company’s financials and visit with management. After that they submitted another sealed bid. The magic of this kind of auction is that if the buyers are desperate to acquire the asset, they won’t just try to offer a dollar more than the second-highest bidder. They will offer the highest price they can afford to ensure they win.
