Banking Term: Controlling Shareholder

Banking Term: Controlling Shareholder

• Controlling shareholder is also called Majority Shareholder.
• Controlling Shareholder is often the founder of the company, or in the case of long-established businesses, the founder's descendants.
• By virtue of controlling more than half of the voting interests in the company, the majority shareholder has a very significant influence in the business operations and strategic direction of the company.
• In other words, any person who is, or group of persons who together are, entitled to exercise or control the exercise of a certain amount of shares in a company at a level (which differs by jurisdiction) that triggers a mandatory general offer, or more of the voting power at general meetings of the issuer, or who is or are in a position to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors of the issuer.