The rival bid was $36.85 a share, people involved in the auction said.

Still, some speculation continued about the possibility of a rival bid.

A rival bid from Viacom's management was valued at $45.50 a share.

After a week of speculation, a rival bid seemed inevitable to many observers.

He said, however, that he remains open to consider any rival bid on the table, but so far there is none.

As the weeks went by, however, no rival bid emerged.

To what extent, for instance, must the board inform itself about rival bids?

British regulators set a deadline of today for rival bids.

Its board can make that decision, giving the company far more flexibility and making it less difficult to respond to a rival bid.

Paramount's board is scheduled to meet today to discuss rival bids for the company.