Controlling Influence

In finance, the term controlling influence describes a situation in which a shareholder either owns more than 50 percent of a company’s shares, or holds a majority of the company’s voting shares.

By owning more than 50 percent of a company’s shares or holding the majority of voting shares, a shareholder holds a controlling interest in that company because they are able to outvote other shareholders.

Controlling Influence may be obtained in agreement with a company’s management, or it may be obtained through the purchase of shares without the agreement of the company’s management (a hostile takeover).

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