1. Words to be remembered.
assets – активы, фонды, капитал, имущество
entity – независимая хозяйственная единица
winding up – ликвидация
covenant – договор, обязательство
inter se (лат.) – между собой
par value – номинальная стоимость
transferor – лицо, переуступающее свое право
transferee – лицо, которому передается право
prima facia evidence (лат.) – доказательство, достаточное при
отсутствии возражений
warrant – документ, подтверждающий что-либо, доверенность,
удостоверение, свидетельство
redeem – рассчитаться по долгам, погасить, выкупить, изъять из
обращения
redeemable – подлежащая погашению
preference share – привилегированная акция
deferred share – отсроченная акция
cumulative – накапливаемый
non-cumulative – некумулятивный, ненакапливаемый
return – доход или прибыль с вложенных денег
defer – откладывать, отсрочивать
memorandum – меморандум, договор об учреждении компании,
акционерного общества
stipulate – оговаривать, ставить условие
allotment – часть, доля
transfer – передача в собственность, уступка права
transmission – передача по наследству
estoppel – лишение права, возражение, лишение стороны права
ссылаться на какие-либо факты или отрицать какие-либо
факты
lodging – депонирование, отдача на хранение
preemption – преимущественное право
2. Text for reading.
Shares and Shareholders
Shareholders are owners of the company but do not own the company’s assets which belong to the company as a separate and independent legal entity. Being a shareholder gives the right to receive a proportion of the profits of the company by way of a dividend while the company operates and a proportion of its assets in the winding up, and all other benefits of membership. A share has been defined as ‘the interest of the shareholder in the company measured by a sum of money, consisting of a series of mutual covenants entered into by all the shareholders inter se and made up of various rights contained in the contract in the articles’. A share is a unit of account for measuring a members’s interests in the company. Each share is required to have a sum of money assigned to it as its normal – or par – value.
The rights and liabilities of the shareholder
A share is a bundle of several rights and liabilities. The principal duty is to pay the nominal value of the share and any premium. The principal rights are (i) the right to a dividend if, while the company is a going concern, a dividend is duly declared; (ii) the right to vote at the meetings of members; and (iii) the right, in the winding up of the company, after the payment of the debts, to receive a proportionate part of the capital or otherwise to participate in the distribution of the assets of the company.
Registered and bearer shares
Shares can be registered or bearer, although it is more normal for them to be registered and a company must have a power in its articles to enable it to issue bearer shares.
In the case of the registered share, title depends on the entry of the holder’s name in the Register of Members and transfer of title involves the substitution of the name of the transferee for that of the transferor. The share certificate is prima facie evidence of title. In the case of bearer shares, the holder is issued with a share warrant which may include coupons for the payment of future dividends. This warrant is a document of title for the shares which are transferable by mere delivery of the warrant. The warrant is therefore a negotiable instrument and a transferee for value, obtains a good title as holder in due course. A person holding bearer shares is not automatically a member of the company. This will depend upon the articles.
Mortgages of shares
Shares can be mortgaged as a security for a loan.
Classes of share
Prima facie, all shares enjoy equal rights and where a company divides its shares into different classes, the presumption of equality must be specifically displaced. All shares may now be issued as redeemable shares. The most usually encountered classes are ordinary shares, preference shares and deferred shares.
Ordinary shares.
Unless otherwise indicated, all shares issued by a company are presumed to be ordinary shares. The rights of an ordinary shareholder implied by law are (i) to be paid on unlimited, non-cumulative dividend where the company makes a profit and a dividend is declared; payment will be after payment of any preference dividends; (ii) to receive notice of and attend and vote at general meetings of the company; and (iii) to the return of capital and share in any surplus capital in the event of winding up.
Preference shares.
Preference shareholders always have priority over ordinary shareholders to payment of a fixed dividend. In addition there may be a preferential right to a return of capital on winding up. There is a presumption that the right to a dividend is cumulative.
A preferential right to a fixed dividend means there is no right to participate in further dividend distributions to ordinary shareholders. Similarly, the right to a preferential return of capital on winding up excludes a claim against surplus assets of the company on winding up: Scottish Insurance Corporation Ltd v. Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co. Ltd [1949]. In this case, the House of Lords stated: ‘Whether a man lends money to a company at 7% or subscribes for its shares carrying a cumulative preferential dividend at that rate, I do not think that he can complain of unfairness if the company... proposes to pay him off.’
Deferred shares.
Also known as management or ‘founders’ shares, they usually carry multiple voting rights with the right to an unlimited dividend deferred until a fixed minimum percentage is paid to the ordinary shareholders. Capital repayment is usually deferred, in which case the deferred shareholders have exclusive rights to surplus assets. They are rarely issued and most have been converted into ordinary shares.