Lecture

Company Law: Capital Structure and Governance

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In course

MGT-455: Practical business law

The course covers the fundamental concepts of business law from a practical standpoint, including contracts and company law, intellectual property, data protection and competition law, with a special focus on issues specific to start-up companies. ...

Description

This lecture covers the legal aspects of company law, focusing on the capital structure, governance, and financial distress. Topics include the formation of corporations, capital requirements, shareholder rights, board of directors' responsibilities, protection of capital, financial distress scenarios, liability of company officers, and the differences between partnerships and corporations. The lecture also discusses the concept of limited liability companies, shares, audit requirements, and the choice of legal structure.

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Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Business

Finance: Corporate finance

Law

Legal systems: Civil law

Related concepts (31)

Limited liability

Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to its investors is sued, then the claimants are generally entitled to collect only against the assets of the company, not the assets of its shareholders or other investors.

Legal liability

In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencies. The claimant is the one who seeks to establish, or prove, liability. Claimants can prove liability through a myriad of different theories, known as theories of liability. Which theories of liability are available in a given case depends on nature of the law in question.

Limited liability company

A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation. An LLC is not a corporation under state law; it is a legal form of a company that provides limited liability to its owners in many jurisdictions.

Capital structure

In corporate finance, capital structure refers to the mix of various forms of external funds, known as capital, used to finance a business. It consists of shareholders' equity, debt (borrowed funds), and preferred stock, and is detailed in the company's balance sheet. The larger the debt component is in relation to the other sources of capital, the greater financial leverage (or gearing, in the United Kingdom) the firm is said to have.

Treasury stock

A treasury stock or reacquired stock is stock which is bought back by the issuing company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock on the open market ("open market" including insiders' holdings). Stock repurchases are used as a tax efficient method to put cash into shareholders' hands, rather than paying dividends, in jurisdictions that treat capital gains more favorably. Sometimes, companies repurchase their stock when they feel that it is undervalued on the open market.

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