Focus on the ceilings for free share allocations – Option Finance, 03/03/2022

 

The allocation of free shares is undoubtedly one of the most widely used profit-sharing tools in that it motivates employees and corporate officers by associating them with the success of their company and/or group. However, although these grants are entirely in the company’s interest and beneficial to the beneficiaries, they can represent a significant source of dilution for the shareholders when they relate to newly issued shares. In order to protect shareholders and limit this dilutive effect, the French Commercial Code provides a framework for this incentive mechanism by limiting the number of grants through a system of ceilings: an overall ceiling assessed according to the amount of the share capital of the issuing company, and an individual ceiling assessed according to the shareholding in the capital of the issuing company held by each beneficiary of free shares granted.

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