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SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENT
THIS SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT made this ________ day of ________________, ________.
BETWEEN:
_________________________ of _________________________, _________________________, _______________ _________________________
OF THE FIRST PART
and
OF THE SECOND PART
_________________________ of _________________________, ____________________, _______________ __________(the "Corporation")
OF THE THIRD PART
BACKGROUND:
IN CONSIDERATION OF the premises and mutual covenants and agreements in this Agreement, the sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
and if the Material Dispute cannot be resolved within a reasonable period or through the provisions for mediation and arbitration within this Agreement, then any Shareholder (the "Initiating Shareholder") may initiate a forced buy or sell agreement (the "Shot Gun Provision").
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties have SIGNED, PUBLISHED AND DECLARED this Agreement as a DEED on this ________ day of ________________, ________.
_____________________________
_________________________ Shareholder
_________________________ Corporation
Per:_________________________ (SEAL)
A Shareholder Agreement is a contract that establishes the rules that govern the shareholders’ relationship to a corporation and to one another.
A shareholder owns portions of equity, known as shares, in a corporation. Depending on how well the company performs, a share’s worth may fluctuate and a shareholder may profit or lose money. All shareholders must review and sign the Shareholder Agreement.
The information you’ll need to complete a Shareholder Agreement includes:
LawDepot’s Shareholder Agreement template makes drafting a contract easy. Our questionnaire asks whether you’d like to address certain issues, and, if so, our template automatically adds clauses to suit your needs. We also offer detailed explanations of certain clauses as you go through the questionnaire.
In a Shareholder Agreement, you may add standard clauses, such as:
Reserved matters are business decisions that require a special level of approval. Instead of the board of directors having final say, shareholders can reserve the power to decide matters regarding:
Prevent shareholders from gaining an unfair competitive advantage after leaving the company by including conflict of interest clauses:
Prepare for potential conflicts between shareholders by including dispute resolution clauses relating to:
Although these two documents both address a company’s internal rules, they have many differences. For instance, a company may keep its Shareholder Agreement private, but its Articles of Association are automatically available to the public once filed with Companies House. Further, under the Companies Act 2006, UK law requires companies to create Articles of Association during the incorporation process. Conversely, UK law doesn’t require all companies to create a Shareholder Agreement.
The Shareholder Agreement mainly outlines the relationship between shareholders and their corporation. In contrast, the Articles of Association outline:
If you’re creating both documents, be sure that your Shareholder Agreement aligns with the rules set out in your company’s Articles of Association. This way, you won’t have conflicting rules that cause you to question which document should override the other.
Without a formal agreement that provides plans for conflict resolution, shareholders might have a difficult time resolving disputes. For instance, our Shareholder Agreement allows shareholders to agree to use a mediator or arbitrator to help them resolve conflicts if and when they occur. A Shareholder Agreement also creates a record of the parties’ agreement to their obligations which can help during conflict resolution.
By creating a Shareholder Agreement during the incorporation process, parties can minimize future uncertainties.
If a shareholder breaches the contract, the other parties have the option to mediate, arbitrate, or litigate (i.e., find a resolution with the help of a third-party or settle a claim in court). A Shareholder Agreement is a legally binding document, which means that the parties have a contractual obligation to uphold its terms and conditions.
If needed, you can get a witness or a notary public to sign and authenticate your Shareholder Agreement. However, laws don’t require you to do so.
If you suspect that one or more shareholders may deny having seen or signed the contract, a witness’s signature or notary seal will help prove the document’s validity in a court setting.
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