Purchase of own shares
The general rule is that a limited company may not acquire its own shares by purchase, subscription or otherwise, except as permitted. Part 18 CA 2006, which comes into effect on 1 October 2009, brings together the current methods by which a limited company can acquire its own shares and section 658 CA 2006 prohibits the acquisition by a limited company of its own shares except in accordance with the provisions of that Part. One advantage of a company reducing its share capital by purchasing its own shares is that the purchase price for the shares concerned may exceed the amount of capital that those shares represent.
The provisions of Part 18 will simplify some restrictions, including in the following ways:
a company will have the power to purchase its own shares unless there is a specific prohibition or restriction contained in its articles of association. Currently a company (public or private) wishing to purchase its own shares must have authority in its articles to do so; and
a private company wishing to purchase its shares out of capital will no longer need specific authorisation in its articles. In addition, the directors will no longer have to make a statutory declaration before a solicitor or commissioner for oaths in connection with the purchase out of capital. A private company will be able to make a purchase out of capital if it complies with the requirements of Chapter 5 of Part 18 which include that the directors have given a solvency statement (similar to the statutory declaration currently required under the CA 1985) supported by an auditors’ report as to the reasonableness of such a statement. A shareholder resolution will also still be required.
A new requirement will be that where the shares are cancelled following their purchase (which they must be unless they are held as treasury shares), the company must notify the registrar of companies of the cancellation and provide a statement of capital.