Amid the time-consuming, complex business of running a company, scant attention is paid to what might happen if a shareholder dies, or becomes seriously ill.
In the interests of financial security, business stability, and continuity – particularly for private limited companies where there may only be a small number of principal shareholders – it is essential to provide a safety net following the loss of a shareholder:
- Shares may go to the deceased’s family, which has no interest in the business and would prefer a cash sum
- The company or other shareholders will want to retain control by buying lost shares – but may not have the resources to do so
- The shares may be taken over by someone who does not share the company’s objectives – and may even be a competitor
Famous quotes containing the word protection:
“The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)