Parent and Subsidiary – Who Owns What?
I am writing this post about parent and subsidiary ownership because of a question that I answered recently on Quora and a similar question that a prospective client posed to me. (Please see Can an LLC allocate ownership to individuals on a per investment basis (vs at the LLC level)?)
I always have thought that parent and subsidiary ownership were straightforward. However, that apparently is not the case for everyone. I will use an example to explain this concept. (I will refer to corporations. This discussion can apply equally to other types of entities, such as limited liability companies.) (more…)
How Can I Calculate My Share Ownership Percentage?
I am writing this post about calculating one’s share ownership percentage because of an email exchange I had on behalf of a client.
We had formed a Delaware corporation with 10 million authorized shares. Of the authorized shares, 8 million had been issued to the founder.
The founder and an independent contractor had agreed on equity compensation for the contractor. The agreed-upon share ownership percentage was 2%.
The contractor thought that he should receive 200,000 shares (2% of 10 million). The rest of this post explains how and why the contractor was incorrect. (more…)
Watch Out for “You Don’t Own It until You Pay”
A start-up entrepreneur recently told me about the agreement he signed with the developer of his website. The agreement has what I consider, from the entrepreneur’s perspective, a most pernicious provision: Ownership of the website, and its intellectual property rights, does not pass from the developer to his client until the fee is paid in full.
I understand why developers like this type of provision: It gives them extra leverage to ensure that they are paid. (more…)
Resolving Small-business Disputes: The 50-50 Deadlock
On occasion when I help a client form a new corporation or limited liability company (LLC), the company will have two owners, each owning 50% of the company.
A major risk with 50-50 ownership is that disagreement on an important issue can deadlock the company. In an extreme situation, the dispute might even put the company out of business!
