Who are the majority shareholders

Individuals or legal entities holding shares are called shareholders of the company. But the rights of shareholders are not the same. The most significant rights are held by majority shareholders - owners of large blocks of shares, having the right to take part in the management of the company.

Majority shareholders, or majority shareholders, are the largest, major shareholders of the company. The name itself comes from the word majorité, which is translated from French as "majority". This word became the basis of the term majoritaire, which has been translated into other languages. Accordingly, the word "minority" derives from the word minorité - a minority. Sometimes for brevity these two groups of shareholders are called majors and minor, but these names are more likely to refer to professional slang.

Majorities in the general classification of shareholders

According to the generally accepted classification, which can be found in any textbook of economics, four categories of shareholders are distinguished.

1. The only one. This is a person (individual or legal entity) that owns 100% of the company’s shares, that is, controls the entire capital of the joint-stock company.

2. Majority. These are large shareholders whose blocks of shares allow them to participate in the management of a joint stock company.

3. Minority. The blocks of shares of these individuals are quite large, sometimes worth hundreds and millions of dollars. But the share in the company is not very large (for example, 1%). Minority shareholders are given certain rights (for example, to collect information on the financial condition of the company), but they do not participate in the management of the company.

4. Retailers. These are small shareholders entitled to receive dividends only.

Majority and minority shareholders are considered the main categories of shareholders - sometimes they are distinguished only. After all, the sole shareholder is, in fact, just the sole majority shareholder of the company. And retail shareholders are small minority shareholders.

The main border of interests is between the majority and minority shareholders: the former are most often interested in the growth of the company's value, expressed in the value of their blocks of shares, and the latter - dividends. This conflict of interest is classic.