"To acquire the shares" means to purchase or gain ownership of the stocks or portions of a company that are available for trading in the stock market. Full definition
In contrast, a tactical asset allocation decision to raise cash makes it possible to acquire shares of stock or bond ETFs at lower prices in the future. (etfexpert.com)
First, it's quite tricky to acquire shares in the initial offering. (moneysense.ca)
They might also exercise their stock options, acquiring shares at a low price and selling them at grossly inflated prices. (canadianbusiness.com)