In the event of a takeover/merger, they may give options holders...

In the event of a takeover/merger, they may give options holders an opportunity to exercise their options during the offer period.

e.g. from the recently announced Genesis and Dacian merger:

"The Offer extends to all Dacian Shares currently on issue, and those issued during the Offer period as a result of the exercise of currently issued options or performance rights. Based on Genesis’ last closing price of $1.205 on 1 July 2022, the implied value of the Offer Consideration is $0.102 per Dacian Share which values Dacian at approximately $111 million (on a fully diluted basis as of the date of this announcement4)."