Founders without Limits: Dual-Class Stock and the Premium Tier of the London Stock Exchange (International Corporate Law and Financial Market Regulation)
Cambridge University Press, 11/11/2021
EAN 9781108839358, ISBN10: 1108839355
Hardcover, 458 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Big Tech has flourished on the US public markets in recent years with numerous blue-chip IPOs, from Google and Facebook, to new kids on the block such as Snap, Zoom, and Airbnb. A key trend is the burgeoning use of dual-class stock. Dual-class stock enables founders to divest of equity and generate finance for growth through an IPO, without losing the control they desire to pursue their long-term, market-disrupting visions. Bobby Reddy scrutinises the global history of dual-class stock, evaluates the conceptual and empirical evidence on dual-class stock, and assesses the approach of the London Stock Exchange and ongoing UK regulatory reforms to dual-class stock. A policy roadmap is presented that optimally supports the adoption of dual-class stock while still protecting against its potential abuses, which will more effectively attract high-growth, innovative companies to the UK equity markets, boost the economy, and unleash the true potential of 'founders without limits'.
Introduction
1. The cult of dual-class stock in the era of big tech
2. A tale of two cities and beyond
3. First among equals? Other methods of creating a divergence between voting and cash-flow rights
4. Shareholder democracy, and corporate purpose
5. From controlling shareholders to dual-class stock
6. Theoretical benefits and detriments of dual-class stock
7. The empirical evidence on dual-class stock
8. The existing constraints
9. A balanced protection package for inferior-voting shareholders
Epilogue
Appendix
The proposed enhanced inferior-voting shareholder protection package for the UK's premium-tier with a comparison to other major dual-class stock exchanges
Index.