Is deliberate deception to secure an unfair or unlawful gain. It is both a civil wrong (a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to remedy the fraud and/or recover compensation) and a criminal offence (a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by the government authorities).

An offer made by tender setting out a proposal by one company to purchase the shares of another company, in order to acquire control of it. Takeovers can be ‘friendly’ or ‘hostile’. A ‘friendly’ takeover is an acquisition that is approved by the management. Before a bidder makes an offer for another company, it usually first informs the company’s board of directors. If the board of directors considers that accepting the offer best serves the shareholders, it recommends that the offer be accepted. A ‘hostile’ takeover allows the bidder to take over a company whose management is unwilling to agree. The takeover becomes hostile the moment the board of directors rejects the offer but the bidder continues to pursue it.

Is a document that governs the relationship between the company and the outside. It is basically a statement that the subscribers wish to form a company, have agreed to become members, and in the case of a company which is to have a share capital, to take at least one share each.

A legal document, usually in writing, giving details of a formal legally binding agreement, between two or more different people or groups. To be legally binding it must contain certain elements: it must contain an offer made by one party and accepted in its entirety by the other, it must include some form of consideration whether it be money, goods or services, and it must be properly signed by all parties to it, and dated.

A contract in which all elements of a contract are specifically stated (offer, acceptance and consideration), and the terms are set out, as compared with an implied contract in which the existence of the contract is assumed by the circumstances.

Any matter of fact that a party to a claim or action offers to provide to prove or disprove an issue in the case. The strongest type of evidence is that which provides direct proof of the truth of an assertion. At the other extreme is evidence that is merely consistent with an assertion but does not rule out other, contradictory assertions, and may be viewed as circumstantial evidence.