The dual class structure is one of the topics that is repeatedly commented due to the Facebook, Alphabet (Google) and other tech companies’ exposure in the media. But they are not the only ones.

We would like to share with our readers a recent article by Anita Anand, University of Toronto – Faculty of Law. We have found the article is very educational about the dual class share structures and its pros and cons.

In a typical public company, shareholders can elect the board, appoint auditors, and approve fundamental changes. Firms with dual class share (DCS) structures alter this balance by inviting the subordinate shareholders to carry the financial risk of investing in the corporation without providing them with the corresponding power to elect the board or exercise other fundamental voting rights.

This article fills a conspicuous gap in the scholarly literature by providing empirical data regarding the governance of DCS firms beyond the presence of sunrise and sunset provisions.

The summary data suggest that the governance of DCS firms is variable. A large proportion of DCS firms have no majority of the minority voting provisions and no independent chair. By contrast, almost half of the DCS firms have a sunset clause and a majority of independent directors. Finally, just under one-third of DCS firms have change of control provisions over and above existing law.

On the basis of this evidence, this article argues against complete private ordering in favor of limited reforms to protect shareholders in DCS firms including: mandatory sunset provisions, disclosure relating to shareholder votes, and buyout protections that would address weaknesses inherent in DCS firms.

We also share a short article published at Bloomberg, which we find relevant as displays a couple of charts about the evolution of this capital structure during the last decades. We hope you find this information useful.

Alembeeks Group is an independent proxy advisor. Institutional investors need a proxy advisor that can help them effectively and efficiently make informed voting decisions and record keep all their votes.