Chapter 9 - Companies: Finance Flashcards
What rights to ordinary shares give?
Auto right to have capital repaid
Participate in redistribution of profits when company is wound up
Statutory pre-emption rights
What rights to preference shares give?
Capital repaid on winding up
Can have priority for return of capital
Prior right to a fixed dividend
What happens to preference shares upon liquidation?
Cease to be entitled to any unpaid preference dividends unless already declared or articles say otherwise
What voting rights to preference shares have?
Same as ordinary shares in absence of excess provision
Do preference shares have rights of pre-emption?
No unless articles specifically say so
What is a redeemable share?
Issued on terms that it can be bought back by the company at the option of company/shareholders
What do the articles state about redeemable shares for private/public companies?
Public - must give authority
Private - may specifically exclude/restrict
What are class rights?
Rights which attach to shares in a specific class and differ from rights enjoyed by all shareholders
Special resolution required to alter
What are the conditions to be able to apply to court for unfairly prejudicial?
Hold at least 15% of shares of class in question
Apply within 21 days
What are pre-emption rights?
Right to be offered new equity shares pro-rata to existing holding
How must pre-emption rights be communicated?
Offer in writing/electronically
> 21 days period of acceptation
Can pre-emption rights apply in the case of exclusion, exceptions and disapplication?
No
Can shares be allotted at a discount?
No
Must never fall below nominal value
What happens if shares are allotted at a discount?
Allottee liable to pay the company discount + interest
What does a company do with premiums paid on shares?
Puts them in share premium account
Amount transferred may be used to write off expense of issuing shares
What are the special rules regarding group reconstruction and merger relief?
Company cannot distribute part of its share premium account as a dividend
What does issuing shares at par mean?
Shares obtain consideration equal to nominal value
Can shares be issued at below market value?
Yes
What is the general rule regarding allotment?
Where an allotment is made in contravention of provisions, allottee liable to pay amount equal to nominal value of allotted shares + interest
How are unlisted shares tramsferred?
Once agreement reached, the transferor holds the shares as trustee for the transferee until registration
Transferor remains member of the company with voting rights
What form does the transferor have to complete?
Stock transfer form in favour of transferee
Given to transferee with certificate
Both sent to company for registration
What happens if a company refuses the transferee?
Must provide reasons for refusal within 2 months
Can securities be transferred without written instrument?
Yes
What happens under the CREST system?
member appoints custodian broker to hold shares under customer agreement
What is the capital principle?
Companies should only use share capital for business purposes
What upholds the capital principle?
Companies Act 2006
Various provisions limit capital reduction schemes and restrict freedom of a company to purchase its own shares
What is the authorised min share capital requirement a public company must satisfy?
£50k
What is issued/allotted share capital?
Shares issued/allotted
Company doesn’t need to issue all of its share capital
What is called-up share capital?
So much of the share capital as equals the aggregate amount of the calls made on its shares + share capital paid up without being called