A shareholders agreement is a legal document typically drafted upon the formation of a new business, protecting the individual investments of the shareholders of a company and outlining how that company is to be managed.
From dispute mechanisms to exit strategies through to wider matters of corporate governance, we advise on shareholders agreements depending on the specific obligations relevant to each individual situation. The best performing companies do not stand still and we appreciate that maximizing operations can require change. We advise on a range of strategic decisions including implementing capital reductions to increase shareholder value and intragroup reorganisation to structure a company more efficiently.
Shareholders agreements help ensure that the owners of the business are clear on issues of control, decision making, voting rights, exits and buyouts, and death or divorce. Having a shareholders’ agreement ensures that the owners of the business can focus their efforts on what’s most important, running a successful business, instead of spending their precious time and effort on resolving business disputes.
One of the benefits of negotiating a shareholders’ agreement is that in the process of doing so, the shareholders may gain a better understanding of the aims and direction of other shareholders and the business as a whole. This ensures that every shareholder is on the same page and that easily avoidable disputes can be handled in an efficient and timely manner.
A well-drafted shareholders agreement is customized to each individual business and its unique goals. Keen investment in the day-to-day helps us to develop extensive knowledge of our clients’ businesses, inside and out.
Whatever their next steps, we are ready to take them together. Our ongoing corporate support to both directors and shareholders, and their group companies draws on expert advice from practice areas across the firm resulting in a consistent multi-disciplinary approach.
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About 20% of small businesses in Canada fail within their very first year. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you have the right business and legal guidance.
