Types of Preference Shares and Rights of Their Owners: Legal Regulation and Practice in Selected Jurisdictions

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the investigation of the nature of the preference share and the regulation of the status of the preference shareholder. It reveals the meaning of the hybrid nature of the preference share. As well as, the status of the preference shareholder is depicted by referring to the rights provided by the contract as well as corporate law. Also, the non-voting stock in the framework of the general standards such as equality of shareholders, “one share, one vote”, homogeneity of interest is explored. The survey is based on the regulation and the legal practice of civil law and common law states, in particular, the UK, the U.S.A., France, Germany, Spain, as the representatives with the developed economy and Ukraine, as the representative with a transition economy. The work is predicated on the introduction and comparing the approaches of the above-mentioned states to the regulation of the status of the preference shareholder. Also, the “basic” protective measures that should be provided to the preference shareholders are summarised.