When a company goes bankrupt and is forced into liquidation, ordinary shareholders are the last to be fined. Since this class of shares has many advantages and guarantees, it is most often issued to investors, for example to venture capitalists who invest in startups. However, preferred shareholders do not have the same ownership rights over the company as ordinary shareholders; they are often not allowed to vote and can sometimes be exchanged. Buyable preferred shares are a common way to finance a business. They allow a company to repurchase its shares in the future (z.B. if interest rates fall and the company wishes to issue new shares with a lower dividend rate), while investors have the option to recoup their money at a price agreed in advance. It is unusual to include the classification of shares in a shareholder pact. However, where the number of shareholders is lower, shareholders may prefer to include the classification of shares and corresponding rights in the shareholder contract and in the Constitution. When more than one class of shares is proposed, companies traditionally designate them as Class A and Class B, with Class A having more voting rights than Class B shares. Class A shares can offer 10 voting rights per share held, while Class B shares offer only one share. It depends on how the company decides to structure its actions. The most common type of share is a common share that allows the shareholder to vote per share at company meetings and participate equally in corporate dividends.

The division of shares into different classes shows that the company can distinguish the different rights of shareholders to vote at company meetings or to participate in the company`s dividends or the distribution of assets in the company or all those mentioned above. When including this optional clause in an agreement, it is important to ensure that the agreement remains consistent. Cross-references, definitions and schedules should all be verified. In theory, a company can create any number of common stock classes. In reality, the decision is usually made to focus voting rights on a particular group of people. The shares that are given to employees are often exchangeable, allowing the company to recover its shares when the employee leaves. However, the ability to exchange shares is limited and subject to specific legal requirements. For example, the company can only exchange shares from cumulative profits or the proceeds of a new share issue.

The most common classification of shares is in Class A and Class B actions. Class B shares tend to have less voting rights than Class A shares. However, the classification of actions and rights related to these classifications is specific to each company. This is a general clause that can be included in a shareholder contract. The provisions can also be used as a basis for identifying additional class of shares in the previous „Shareholder Pact (short for short).“ The difference between Class A and Class B shares is illustrated by the share categories of Berkshire Hathaway, the company of legendary investor Warren Buffett. The Company`s Class B stock was trading at $208.96 at March 5, 2020, while class A shares were valued at $315,000. Alphabet shares therefore allow companies to strengthen or restrict the rights of certain shareholders. For example, „A shares“ may have a higher dividend rate than „B shares,“ so that for the same number of shares, A-shareholders receive more than holders of B shares.