1 Legal aspects of startup financing and venture capital investments Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze the legal aspects of startup financing, especially with a focus on venture capital investments. As the transaction documentation related to venture capital investments usually contains a significant number of foreign language clauses and provisions, a part of my thesis is dedicated to these clauses and their detailed description using practical examples. The content itself is divided into three parts. The first of them generally defines the companies referred to as startups and their individual development stages. It also answers the question, startups are facing in their beginnings, of choosing the appropriate legal form. The conclusion of the first part is then focused practically on individual methods used for startup valuation. The second part is then focused on the venture capital investment realization and specific transaction documentation associated with capital investment. The beginning of the second part is focused on pre-contractual documentation referred to as the Term Sheet and legal Due Diligence. Subsequently, the Shareholders' Agreement and individual foreign language clauses and provisions are analyzed. Those provisions are part of the Shareholders' Agreement in order...

Since 2007, several studies have been conducted by international and national role players to establish whether the recent efforts to improve financial reporting have been successful. The respondents to the surveys used as part of these studies have indicated that more concise and less complex financial reports would be more understandable to users of financial reports. In view of the call for shorter and simpler financial reports, the fact that the understandability of financial reports appears to be a problem, as well as the fact that a limited amount of research on the understandability of interim financial reports has been done thus far, it was decided to investigate whether individual shareholders understand the context and content of interim financial reports which, per se, are supposed to be more concise and less complex financial reports presented by companies. The study entailed using a postal questionnaire in a survey of a sample of individual shareholders of three large South African listed retail companies to determine whether individual shareholders understand the context and content of interim financial reports, and whether they use these reports, among other sources, to make investment decisions. The study is based loosely on the high profile studies of Lee and Tweedie in respect of individual shareholders performed in the late 1970s. The primary research objective of the current study was to determine whether individual shareholders of South African listed retail companies understand the context and content of interim financial reports. It was found that understanding of these reports was generally limited. However, there is evidence that experience and training in the field of financial accounting improve shareholders’ understanding of the content of interim financial reports. Apart from questions on the demographics and investment objectives of individual shareholders, a number of other questions were also included in the questionnaire to address several secondary research objectives. The questions relating to the secondary research objectives were designed to gather information, inter alia, on how individual shareholders make investment decisions, sources of information used by individual shareholders when making investment decisions, additional information that should be included in interim financial reports, as well as the medium of communication through which individual shareholders would prefer to receive interim financial reports. The study has shown, amongst other things, that the majority of respondents to this study initiated their own investment decisions, that articles in the financial press are the most popular source of information when making investment decisions, and that individual shareholders still prefer to receive interim reports by post. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Accounting / Unrestricted

Prior studies on the impact of the termination of overfunded defined benefit pension plans on shareholders' wealth have produced conflicting findings. The first study on the stock market reaction to pension plan termination was conducted by Alderson and Chen (1986); this study claimed that shareholders realize significant positive abnormal returns around the termination announcement date. A more recent study, by Moore and Pruitt (1990), disclaimed the findings of Alderson and Chen. Reexamination of these two studies with additional evidence and the use of the appropriate announcement date suggests that termination of pension plans is associated with significant wealth gain to shareholders. This study also analyzes samples from periods prior to and after the imposition in 1986 of a 10 percent excise tax on recaptured excess pension assets. The empirical results suggest that shareholders experience significant positive wealth effects for the pre-tax (1980-85) period and no wealth effects for the post-tax (1986-88) period. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the impact of stock market reaction upon shareholders' wealth under the partial anticipation hypothesis. The pre-tax sample is analyzed by isolating the expected terminators using the multiple discriminant analysis model. This study finds significant positive abnormal returns only for firms that are not anticipated by the investors as potential terminators. The results of this study do not lend support to either the "separation" or the "integration" hypothesis as proposed by Alderson and Chen (1986). Instead, the results are consistent with the information hypothesis that the market reacts to unanticipated events that provide new information. Cross-sectional regression analysis of unexpected terminators suggests that the abnormal performance of stocks of pension terminating firms is explained by the firms' debt ratio and the amount of surplus pension assets. It can be inferred that firms may resort to recapturing excess pension assets as a way of financing investments internally when faced with unfavorable credit markets.

The ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Commissioner South African Revenue Service v Brummeria Renaissance (Pty) Ltd on 13 September 2007 added to and amended South African case law regarding the critical definition of ‘gross income’ in the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. The court diverged from the existing precedent – set in Stander v Commissioner for Inland Revenue – that receipts that “could not be converted into cash and could not be transferred to anyone else” are not taxable. In Commissioner South African Revenue Service v Brummeria Renaissance (Pty) Ltd the court ruled that what is key is that the benefit has an ascertainable monetary value. Accordingly, the benefits of interest-free loans can be valued – using the weighted prime overdraft interest rate – and can be taxed. This decision has been the subject of much debate, centring on the aptness of the amended view of ‘gross income’, the quid pro quo principle discussed in the judgement, the valuation method, and the implications of these for taxpayers. The purpose of this study is to present arguments and additional information to this continued debate, looking particularly at the impact of Commissioner South African Revenue Service v Brummeria Renaissance (Pty) Ltd on interest-free shareholders’ loans, without attempting to provide a definitive answer to this debate. This non-empirical study explores the topic through a review of literature, with the sources cited being mainly published public articles, tax text books and conference papers retrieved from the internet. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Taxation / unrestricted

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo traçar os principais contornos do instituto do benefício particular, positivado na legislação brasileira por meio do artigo 115, §1º, da Lei n. 6.404/76, diferenciando-o do instituto relativo ao interesse conflitante nas sociedades, insculpido no mesmo dispositivo supra citado. A partir da análise do Direito Comparado, constatou-se que o benefício particular, tal como o conhecemos hoje no Brasil, tem origem na legislação francesa, especificamente nas Leis de 17 de julho de 1956 e 24 de julho de 1867. Os contornos de sua conceituação, portanto, estão intimamente ligados às razões de ordem histórica e teleológica que levaram o legislador estrangeiro a criá-lo, o qual visava, à época, afastar os abusos e inconveniências decorrentes da aprovação, em assembleia, de vantagens especiais e exclusivas pelo próprio sócio beneficiário dessas vantagens. Complementarmente, por meio da análise e interpretação sistemática da legislação societária brasileira e de outras fontes de direito disponibilizadas, como a doutrina e a jurisprudência, pôde-se definir algumas das características mais marcantes do instituto, das quais se pode destacar a licitude, a gratuidade e o caráter social das vantagens a ele associadas, garantindo ao beneficiado acesso aos fundos sociais. Em paralelo, para fins de mera comparação com o instituto do benefício particular, foram abordados alguns aspectos relativos ao instituto do conflito de interesses, reafirmando conceitos doutrinários já sedimentados acerca do alcance do interesse social e procurando, a partir da análise da legislação brasileira e comparada, fixar alguns elementos intrínsecos a esse instituto, tal como a ilicitude e o caráter extrassocial da vantagem visada pelo acionista conflitado. Comparando as características do benefício particular e do conflito de interesses, pode-se concluir que, apesar da aparente semelhança que carregam, tratam-se de institutos distintos, que regulam situações diversas, não podendo ser confundidos ou tomados um pelo outro, sendo possível, de fato, se estabelecer um critério relativamente seguro para distingui-los entre si, conferindo uma maior segurança jurídica aos aplicadores do direito, evitando-se, assim, algumas interpretações equivocadas acerca dos institutos, tais como aqueles constantes nos posicionamentos da Comissão de Valores Mobiliários analisados ao final desse trabalho. / The current paper has the sole purpose of designing the main lines of the private benefits regulation, reaffirmed by means of Act 115, §1st, in the Brazilian law number 6.404/76, distinguishing it from institutions that relate to conflicting partnership interests, comprehended by the same aforementioned Act. From assessing the Paired Law regulation, it has been understood that the private benefits, such as it is currently recognized in Brazil, is based on the French legislation, more specifically on the July 17, 1956 and July 24, 1867 Acts. Therefore, the contours of its conceptualism are intimately connected to historic and teleological reasoning that took the foreign regulator to create it and which aimed, at that time, to keep away abuse and inconveniences resulting from the approval, in an shareholders meeting, of special and exclusive advantages by their own beneficiary parties. In addition, by means of systematically assessing and interpreting the Brazilian Corporate Law and other Law resources made available, such as the Law doctrine and jurisprudence, it was possible to determine some of the most outstanding characteristics of such an institute, among which the lawfulness, gratuity and social character of the advantages associated with it can be highlighted, thus assuring the access of the beneficiary party to social funds. In parallel, by means of solely comparing the private benefits regulation, some aspects regarding the conflict of interests were also assessed, reaffirming doctrine concepts about the reach of social interests that are already established and trying to determine, by means of analyzing the Brazilian Corporate Law and Paired Law, some of the elements that are inherent to that establishment, such as its wrongfulness and the extrasocial character of the advantage pledged by the conflicting party. By pairing the characteristics of private benefits and the conflict of interests, it is concluded that, despite their apparent similarities, those are distinct institutes that regulate diverse situations, which cannot be confused or taken by one another and, in fact, it is possible to establish a relatively safe criteria to differentiate both, thus providing greater judicial accuracy to Law enforcers, and this way avoiding misinterpretation of regulation, such as those that are common to the positioning of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission that are analyzed in the end of this paper.

我國於94年6月22日公布修正後之公司法，正式賦予公司召開股東會時，得採行書面或電子方式供股東行使表決權之法律依據，期能使我國之公司治理與股東權益維護能與國際接軌；惟「股東會電子投票」制度，歷經元大京華證券股份有限公司、台灣總合股務處理股份有限公司及台灣集中保管結算所股份有限公司三個平台之建置，仍然未被各上市、櫃公司廣為採用，即使偶有採用者，其投票總權數占總股份之比例多數未及1%，顯示成效不彰。另2010年10月的亞洲公司治理協會(Asian Corporate Governance Association)年會，提出了最新一份的「CG Watch」報告，在這份報告中，ACGA指出我國推動股權權益的狀況上較前次調查類似，並未有太大改善，比如公司對國外投資人「通訊投票」、「分割投票」權益的行使，相關法規及配套仍不夠完備，而針對「通訊投票」得分，在歷次的評分中，我國都是敬陪末座，可以說，這幾年來此一核心問題並未被重視並獲得具體的改善。 基此本研究將以股東會通訊投票之法令、制度為經，佐以實務之見解為緯，參考外國經驗，藉由分析現行之問題並勾勒未來推動之建議供各界參考。本研究除分析我國股東會之基本概念、表決權行使方式、委託書之使用，並藉由對美、日兩國股東會制度及實務之探討，一窺國際之現況及未來發展之趨勢。另針對我國股東會通訊投票制度與現況進行背景說明，並介紹我國通訊投票下書面投票與電子投票之架構及現況，最後分析我國電子投票採用率偏低之原因。 此外，針對美、日、台三國股東會通訊投票制度分別由法規制度面、股東權益面、公司執行面及電子投票實務面進行比較，最後並提出對相關主事者之建議及對後續研究者未來研究方向之建議，以期經由各界之腦力激盪，共同為我國的資本市場國際化而努力。 / The amendment of Taiwan Company Act in June 22nd, 2005, upon its release, granted each shareholder the legitimate right to cast his/her vote by both written and electronic means in shareholders’ meetings. This amendment is menat to bring Taiwan’s corporate governance and shareholder rights in line with the international practice. However, with the limited use of no more than 1% voting rights of most listing and over-the-counter (OTC) companies on the three voting forums established by Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Co., Ltd., Taiwan Integrated Shareholder Service Company and Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation, the attempt has been proven unsuccessful. In addition, the latest “CG Watch” report, submitted during the 2010 Asian Governance Association annual conference held in October, has suggested that, similar to the previous reports, shareholder rights of Taiwan-based companies have not been improved outstandingly. For instance, the exercise of “postal voting” and “vote splitting” upon foreign investors of Taiwan-based companies has been restricted due to the flaws in the domestic voting system and regulations. Also, in the report, a constant low rating in “postal voting” for the Taiwan-based companies simply hints that the core issue has never been properly valued nor concretely improved. Based on the suggestions in the previous paragraph, this research paper provides an overview of the laws and the regulations of the postal voting system. The paper also includes opinions on practical needs and comparison from foreign experiences. By means of analyzing our current issues, the research draws an outline of the propositions for trends of the future development. Apart from analyzing the basic concepts of shareholders’ meetings held by some Taiwan-based companies, exercise of voting rights, and use of proxy forms, the research also peeks into the current situation around the globe and the future trends by consulting the system and the practical needs of shareholders’ meetings in the U.S. and Japan. As for the postal voting system and the current situation in Taiwan, the research provides a background illustration by introducing the structure and the current status of printed ballot voting and electronic voting under our postal voting framework. In conclusion, the paper points out the reasons for limited use of electronic voting in Taiwan. Finally, the research measures postal voting systems in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan from aspects of the laws and regulations, the shareholder rights, the corporate execution and the practical needs. In the end, in order for the effort of internationalization upon domestic capital market, the research eventually proposes the solutions for the related personnel in charge and the follow-up research direction for future researchers.

Le capital social, de par la pluralité de ses fonctions, est le théâtre de la rencontre de l'intérêt des créanciers, des actionnaires et de la société. Sa modification, réalisée à la hausse ou à la baisse, impacte corrélativement l'étendue des prérogatives dont bénéficient ces protagonistes. Si ces derniers peuvent être animés d'objectifs divergents -et doivent, en conséquence, être protégés séparément -ils s'accordent néanmoins sur la nécessité de certaines caractéristiques intrinsèques du capital social. Aussi, il n'est pas surprenant que le législateur se soit attaché à assurer la sauvegarde de leurs droits, soit chacun particulièrement, soit de manière collective. L'étude des différentes mesures de protections prévues par le droit positif révélera tantôt ses imperfections, tantôt ses lacunes et ses incohérences. Sera également mis en exergue le caractère modulable de certains dispositifs, offrant ainsi aux organes sociaux la faculté de les supprimer ou de les façonner en fonction de la vision « distributive» ou« financière» du capital social qu'ils auront arrêtée. Enfin, cette étude mettra en relief l'opportunité d'autoriser sa variabilité sans contrainte si celle-ci est limitée par deux bornes, lesquelles dessineraient le capital« autorisé ». / Due to the multiplicity of its functions, the share capital is the scene where the interests of creditors, shareholders and the company meet. Its modification, whether it be for amplification or reduction, has an impact which corresponds to the extent of the prerogatives which the protagonists enjoy. If the latter may have conflicting objectives -and must therefore be protected separately -they nevertheless agree on the necessity of some intrinsic features of the share capital. This is why it is not surprising that the legislator has made a point of safeguarding their rights, either on an individual basis or collectively. The study of the different protection measures provided for by the positive law sometimes reveals its imperfections, sometimes its shortcomings and its inconsistencies. The adjustable nature of some specific devices will also be highlighted, thereby providing the social organs with the right to remove or shape them according to the "distributive" or "financial" vision of the social capital they will have determined. Finally, this study will highlight whether or not to allow its variability without constraint if it is set within two bounds, which would represent the "authorized" capital.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo traçar os principais contornos do instituto do benefício particular, positivado na legislação brasileira por meio do artigo 115, §1º, da Lei n. 6.404/76, diferenciando-o do instituto relativo ao interesse conflitante nas sociedades, insculpido no mesmo dispositivo supra citado. A partir da análise do Direito Comparado, constatou-se que o benefício particular, tal como o conhecemos hoje no Brasil, tem origem na legislação francesa, especificamente nas Leis de 17 de julho de 1956 e 24 de julho de 1867. Os contornos de sua conceituação, portanto, estão intimamente ligados às razões de ordem histórica e teleológica que levaram o legislador estrangeiro a criá-lo, o qual visava, à época, afastar os abusos e inconveniências decorrentes da aprovação, em assembleia, de vantagens especiais e exclusivas pelo próprio sócio beneficiário dessas vantagens. Complementarmente, por meio da análise e interpretação sistemática da legislação societária brasileira e de outras fontes de direito disponibilizadas, como a doutrina e a jurisprudência, pôde-se definir algumas das características mais marcantes do instituto, das quais se pode destacar a licitude, a gratuidade e o caráter social das vantagens a ele associadas, garantindo ao beneficiado acesso aos fundos sociais. Em paralelo, para fins de mera comparação com o instituto do benefício particular, foram abordados alguns aspectos relativos ao instituto do conflito de interesses, reafirmando conceitos doutrinários já sedimentados acerca do alcance do interesse social e procurando, a partir da análise da legislação brasileira e comparada, fixar alguns elementos intrínsecos a esse instituto, tal como a ilicitude e o caráter extrassocial da vantagem visada pelo acionista conflitado. Comparando as características do benefício particular e do conflito de interesses, pode-se concluir que, apesar da aparente semelhança que carregam, tratam-se de institutos distintos, que regulam situações diversas, não podendo ser confundidos ou tomados um pelo outro, sendo possível, de fato, se estabelecer um critério relativamente seguro para distingui-los entre si, conferindo uma maior segurança jurídica aos aplicadores do direito, evitando-se, assim, algumas interpretações equivocadas acerca dos institutos, tais como aqueles constantes nos posicionamentos da Comissão de Valores Mobiliários analisados ao final desse trabalho. / The current paper has the sole purpose of designing the main lines of the private benefits regulation, reaffirmed by means of Act 115, §1st, in the Brazilian law number 6.404/76, distinguishing it from institutions that relate to conflicting partnership interests, comprehended by the same aforementioned Act. From assessing the Paired Law regulation, it has been understood that the private benefits, such as it is currently recognized in Brazil, is based on the French legislation, more specifically on the July 17, 1956 and July 24, 1867 Acts. Therefore, the contours of its conceptualism are intimately connected to historic and teleological reasoning that took the foreign regulator to create it and which aimed, at that time, to keep away abuse and inconveniences resulting from the approval, in an shareholders meeting, of special and exclusive advantages by their own beneficiary parties. In addition, by means of systematically assessing and interpreting the Brazilian Corporate Law and other Law resources made available, such as the Law doctrine and jurisprudence, it was possible to determine some of the most outstanding characteristics of such an institute, among which the lawfulness, gratuity and social character of the advantages associated with it can be highlighted, thus assuring the access of the beneficiary party to social funds. In parallel, by means of solely comparing the private benefits regulation, some aspects regarding the conflict of interests were also assessed, reaffirming doctrine concepts about the reach of social interests that are already established and trying to determine, by means of analyzing the Brazilian Corporate Law and Paired Law, some of the elements that are inherent to that establishment, such as its wrongfulness and the extrasocial character of the advantage pledged by the conflicting party. By pairing the characteristics of private benefits and the conflict of interests, it is concluded that, despite their apparent similarities, those are distinct institutes that regulate diverse situations, which cannot be confused or taken by one another and, in fact, it is possible to establish a relatively safe criteria to differentiate both, thus providing greater judicial accuracy to Law enforcers, and this way avoiding misinterpretation of regulation, such as those that are common to the positioning of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission that are analyzed in the end of this paper.

The theme of this diploma thesis is "Contracting autonomy in construction of classes of shares and its limits". Its aim is to answer the question to what extent is the contracting autonomy of shareholders limited, when it comes to construction of classes of shares. The answer is being found by means of a negative analysis that lists both statutory and case-law based limits that restrict that autonomy. It also presents legal consequences, from which suffer those classes of special shares that collide with the statutory provisions and the constructions of rights that are questionable or vague. This diploma thesis comprises of two chapters. Whereas the first one deals with the contracting autonomy in construction of classes of shares and its limits in Czech law, the second one do likewise in German law. The first chapter is divided into two sections. The first part describes a security and shares in general trying to bring out those of their specifics that are subject of further discussion of limits of the contracting autonomy in construction of classes of shares and particular classes of shares. The second section of the first chapter has two subsections. The first one addresses statutory and case-law based limits, which restrict the contracting autonomy of shareholders in construction of special...

The thesis focuses on dealing with financial resources of a factoring company. It analyses the development of the company so far as well as its position on the Czech market. On the basis of expansive business strategy a financial plan is elaborated, and suitable financial resources for covering the additional need for capital are suggested.