Shareholder

The shareholders are the owners of the limited company and may consist of one or several private or legal persons. Examples of legal persons are limited companies, public limited companies and general partnerships.

All limited companies must have a shareholder register that should be available to all. This must show who the shareholders are at any given time. Change of shareholders will not be registered with us.

Rights and obligations

As a shareholder, you cannot be held liable for debt incurred by the company beyond what you have paid for the share. The creditors can only go to the company with their claims.

You are entitled to vote at the general meeting and receive dividends from the limited company. You are also obliged to pay the share capital, and to act responsible in your role as a shareholder.

Agreements

The shareholders in a company can choose to enter into an agreement that regulates the relationship between them. There are no particular requirements as to the layout of this kind of agreement. Requirements for dividends or work effort can be examples that might be regulated in such an agreement.

It is also possible to make agreements between the company and the shareholder, but there are certain requirements that need to be followed. These requirements can be found in section 3-8 of the Limited Liability Companies Act. 

Withdrawal from the company

If certain conditions are met, you may as a shareholder withdraw from the company or buy out other shareholders. These conditions are regulated by the Limited Liability Companies Act.