Shareholder Register

What is a Shareholder Register?

A list that identifies each holder of an equity interest in the company along with important information about each holder such as name, address, shares held, date of first entry to the register, capital calls outstanding, and dividend payments owing.

Part of your company documentation, a shareholder register is a list of individuals and or corporate entities that own your company’s shares. It is also called a Capitalization Table, or Cap Table, if your company is a start-up or an early-stage venture. Your shareholder register typically includes:

• The name and contact details of shareholders
• The number and category of shares held by respective shareholders
• The amount paid to acquire the shares
• Important dates, such as purchase of shares, cancellation of shares and transfer of shares

The shareholder register contains information required as per the by-laws of your company, local as well as potentially offshore jurisdictions. It is considered a proprietary document, accessible only to certified employees of your company, other shareholders, or third-party vendors who manage the register.

Why are Shareholder Registers important for business today?

Having an up-to-date shareholder register provides benefits for your company including:

• The ability to track the number, owners and value of the total shares issued
• The ability to monitor share splits, consolidations, redemptions, cancellations, conversions and issuance of new shares
• The ability to provide an accurate picture of the company in formal presentations
• The ability to meet regulatory requirements for disclosing information about your company’s ownership

Why are Shareholder Register important for an event tomorrow?

A compliant and updated shareholder register is key for your company, especially while conducting transactions with other businesses because it:

• Acts as a go-to document providing information on the current status of share ownership
• Accelerates decision-making for various events, such as new investments, by assessing information on availability and value of shares
• Provides a rational valuation of your company in a concise document, which is essential for investments

Pros of addressing Shareholder Register

• Accelerates decision-making for transactions
• Ensures regulatory compliance and prevents legal penalties
• Provides transparency for the tracking of share ownership and transfer

Cons of not addressing this topic

• Leads to delays in deal closures due to the lack or absence of share ownership information
• Makes it difficult to track share ownership, transfer or equity scenarios in the case of management changes or M&A
• Adds significant compliance and regulatory burdens