Legal Capital Rules Flashcards
What are Legal Capital Rules?
The rules constraining what a firm may do with a shareholder equity.
What is the Purpose of Legal Capital Rules?
To resolve the conflicting interests of creditors and shareholders regarding capital allocation.
What Documentary Requirements are there under the Legal Capital Rules upon Registration?
A Statement of Capital and Initial Shareholdings.
CA 2006 – §9-§10.
Broadly, what are the Two Categories of Legal Capital Rules?
The Raising and Maintenance of Capital Rules.
Why do the interests of Creditors and Shareholders conflict?
Shareholders, as residual claimants, wish to profit-maximize at all costs whereas creditors, as secured claimants, only seek repayment and thus the mitigation of unnecessary risk.
Structurally, how is Creditors’ and Shareholders’ conflict of interest exacerbated?
Shareholders hold great influence over the Board, which enables them to profit excessively at the expense of Credtiors.
How may Shareholders go about profiting excessively at the expense of Creditors? (A-RUC)
- Asset Diversion, i.e. withdrawing assets from the firm’s cushion.
- Risk shifting, i.e. increasing the firm’s risk profile.
- Underinvestment, i.e. quitting projects that don’t profit-maximize.
- Claim dilution, i.e. taking on divergently unproductive debt.
Are Creditors capable of benefiting themselves at the expense of Shareholders?
Yes, but to a comparatively lesser degree. E.g.:
- Loan acceleration.
- Covenants against dividends.
- Risk-shifting.
What are the Two Sub-categories of the rules regulating the Raising of Capital?
- Minimum Capital Rules.
- Payment for Shares Rules.
Broadly, what do the Minimum Capital Rules pertain to?
The amount of capital which must be invested into a public company by its shareholders before trading.
What is the Par Value of a Share?
The nominal value at which a share is allotted.
What is Nominal Share Capital?
The amount of capital belonging to a company upon registration.
What is Share Capital?
The aggregate par value of a company’s outstanding shares.
What is Paid-Up Share Capital?
The amount already paid by shareholders to a company in exchange for shares.
What is Called-Up Share Capital?
The amount yet unpaid by shareholders to a company in exchange for shares already purchased, exceeding no more than 75% initial price.
CA 2006 – §581 & §586.
What is a Share Premium?
The amount above par at which a share is being alloted.
What is to be done with the Profits made on Share Premiums?
The aggregate value gained must be transferred to a Share Premium Account.
CA 2006 – §610.
How may the proceeds of a Share Premium Account be utilized?
To write off expenses or commissions paid on share issuances, or to give company members stock options.
CA 2006 – §610.
What is the Technical Difference between Share Allottment and Issuance?
Allottment is the portioning of shares, while issuance is the execution of said portioning.
See: Companies Act 2006 – §549-§577.
For a UK PLC, what is the Minimum Nominal Value of allocated share capital?
£50,000.
Companies Act 2006 – §763.
Is there a Minimum Capital Requirement for LLCs?
No.
Can Minimum Capital Requirements honestly be said to protect Creditors?
No. The sums they require are microscopic relative to the debts owed by PLCs, and they don’t even need to be maintained after registration.
How do Creditors chiefly go about protecting themselves against Insolvency?
By drafting contracts and clauses which afford them such protection, e.g. representations, warranties, covenants, and conditions precedent.
What is the Purpose of regulating Payment for Shares?
To guard against shareholder dilution and, to a lesser degree, to protect creditors.
How is Fair Consideration guaranteed in Payment for Shares?
By requiring that all shares must have a fixed minimum nominal value, i.e. par value.
Companies Act 2006 – §542.
In exchange for Shares, which forms of Consideration are acceptable?
Cash and Non-Cash Consideration.
CA 2006 – §582.
Is it possible to issue shares below par value, i.e. at a Discount?
No. This is known as the ‘No Discount Rule’.
Companies Act 2006 – §582(1); Ooregum Gold Mining Co. of India v Roper [1892] AC 125.
If a share’s par value is low, its stock price high, and its most recent issuance below market price but above par, are the Directors exposed to legal liability?
Only if they did not act bona fide in the best interests of the company when setting the price.
Shearer v Bercain [1980] 3 All ER 295; Re Sunrise Radio Ltd. [2010] 1 BCLC 367; Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York v Rank Organization Ltd. [1985] BCLC 11.
For LLCs, how is the ‘No Discount Rule’ examined in cases of Non-Cash Consideration?
With deferrence to the Board’s commercial judgement, which goes unquestioned so long as it isn’t, “clearly colourable or illusory.”
Re Wragg Ltd. [1897] 1 Ch 796.
For PLCs, how is the ‘No Discount Rule’ examined in cases of Non-Cash Consideration?
With mandatory independent valuation of the non-cash consideration prior to allotment.
Companies Act 2006 – §593-597.
Is Non-Cash Consideration acceptable off-the-bat for PLCs?
No. §598-§604 strictly govern the use of non-cash consideration during a company’s initial period, i.e. first two years post-registration.
What transpires upon Breach of the Payment for Shares Rules?
The allottee will be liable to repay the company their discount + interest, but may also be liable to repay the shares’ entire nominal value + premium(s) + interest.
Companies Act 2006 – §593.
What transpires upon Transference of Illegitimately Discounted Shares?
Generally, all subsequent purchasers will be held jointly and severally liable for the discount + interest (or even more).
Companies Act 2006 – §588 and §605.
Is there a Defence against purchasing Illegitimately Discounted Shares?
Having demonstrably acted in good faith.
Companies Act 2006 – §588 & §605.
How do the Payment for Shares Rules protect Creditors or Shareholderes?
They practically don’t. For shareholders, share dilution is untouched. For creditors, any increase in the asset pool is good, and where shares are issued to release a debt, they are worth much less in insolvency.
What was the Precedent set in Centros?
EU firms are free to incorporate in whichever Member State they so desire, even if they don’t transact there whatsoever.
Centros Ltd. v Erhvervs-og Selskabsstyrelsen [1999] ECR I-1459
What was the Economic effect of Centros on the UK?
A large influx of relatively small, but economically significant LLCs.
Becht, Mayer, & Wagner – Where Do Firms Incorporate? Deregulation and the Cost of Entry [242]
Why were LLCs attracted to the UK after Centros?
The UK had the simplest and lowest-cost incorporation procedures in the Union.
Becht, Mayer, & Wagner – Where Do Firms Incorporate? Deregulation and the Cost of Entry [242].
With respect to Regulation, what does the Centros corporate migration strongly imply?
That, if two States’ corporate law is of comparable quality, “then price considerations should dominate.”
Becht, Mayer, & Wagner – Where Do Firms Incorporate? Deregulation and the Cost of Entry [242].