By July 2002 the school had raised the required £50,000 sponsorship and the bid went in during 2003.

My final bid goes in three seconds before the end of the auction, and I knock everyone out.

The bid can go around a second time, giving players the chance to raise their bid.

So when the bids went out, mine got special consideration.

In some cases, bids can go well beyond the asking price.

Never would Kelsey have believed the bid could have gone that high.

Such a bid may go ahead immediately, provided the voting rights attached to the shares are not exercised.

"You figure each bid is going to take 7 to 10 seconds," he explained.

Regulators will decide in early May whether the bid can go ahead.

It was unclear last night just how high the bids would go.