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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Companies Act 1993

Shareholders and their rights and obligations

96: Meaning of shareholder

You could also call this:

“Who counts as a shareholder in a company”

In this law, a shareholder is someone who owns part of a company. You’re a shareholder if your name is written in the company’s share register as owning one or more shares. You can also be a shareholder in two other ways. First, if you’re named as a shareholder when the company is first registered, even if your name isn’t in the share register yet. Second, if you’re supposed to be listed as a shareholder when two or more companies join together, even if your name isn’t in the share register yet. This joining of companies is called an amalgamation. Remember, in all these cases, you’re only a shareholder until your name is actually written in the share register.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM320461.

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Part 7 Shareholders and their rights and obligations

96Meaning of shareholder

  1. In this Act, the term shareholder, in relation to a company, means—

  2. a person whose name is entered in the share register as the holder for the time being of 1 or more shares in the company:
    1. until the person's name is entered in the share register, a person named as a shareholder in an application for the registration of a company at the time of registration of the company:
      1. until the person's name is entered in the share register, a person who is entitled to have that person's name entered in the share register under a registered amalgamation proposal as a shareholder in an amalgamated company.