The correct answers are: To issue a circular to their shareholders urging them to refuse the offer; to look for an alternative bidder; to launch a publicity campaign against the takeover.

When the board of directors of a target company regard a takeover bid as hostile, some courses of action are open to them, but not others. They must inform their shareholders about the bid, and they cannot refer a bid to the competition authorities - they can only try to persuade the competition authorities to look at the bid and consider the competition issues involved. However, they can issue a circular to shareholders explaining their opposition to the bid, they can launch a publicity campaign against the bid, and they can try to find an alternative bidder who would be more acceptable (a White Knight).