Shareholders’ Agreement or Unitholders’ Agreement
As soon as your startup has more than one owner, you need one of these, and this may turn out to be the most important contract you ever enter into.
A proper Shareholders’ Agreement will govern how important business decisions are made, how the company will raise further capital in the future and how the investors will ultimately exit – all crucial matters about which there should be clear agreement in advance.
Of particular importance will be pre-emption rights on new issues of securities (shares), which help to prevent the investors from being diluted by future capital raisings, as well as pre-emption rights on transfers of securities to give the investors certainty about the particular individuals with whom they are going into business. Tag-along and drag-along rights can also prove to be crucial when one or more of the owners are seeking to exit the business.
Creating a shareholders’ agreement for your startup will force you and your co-investors to sit down together and address these vital points upfront.
A proper Shareholders’ Agreement will govern how important business decisions are made, how the company will raise further capital in the future and how the investors will ultimately exit – all crucial matters about which there should be clear agreement in advance.
Time To Complete:
Approximately 15 minutes.
Length:
Approximately 20 pages long.
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