1.   If a competing offer is made, the first bidder will be hampered by the more cumbersome procedures under the Court Scheme.

2.   American International Group has put a competing offer for American General on the table.

3.   Analysts said Anthem paid a high price, measured by other recent sales of Blue Cross plans, probably to thwart competing offers from other insurers.

4.   An offer by Comit to acquire Cariplo was rejected by the bank in favor of the competing offer put forward by Ambroveneto.

5.   As a result, Turner would need additional capital to make a competing offer.

6.   As part of the takeover accord, CS Resources granted PanCanadian the right to match any competing offer and agreed not to seek other bids.

7.   A competing offer, reports Exec-U-Net, an online executive recruiting and networking site in Norwalk, Conn.

8.   A competing offer from Blue Shield, which is not connected to Blue Cross in California, was rejected.

9.   A mandatory background-check policy can annoy managers who are itching to snag a hot prospect before a competing offer arises.

10.   A London Insurance spokesman said the company has expected a competing offer and was surprised it had taken so long for a rival bidder to emerge.