Squeeze-Out of Minorities: More General Action Needed

Leonid V. Antonenko

There was a short period of time in the history of Ukraine’s corporations when corporate ownership was dispersed and control over the recently privatized companies was held by company management. The percentage of shares controlled by the managers was modest, the companies were open to takeovers and the country desperately needed proper takeover rules to protect minorities and to curb the powers of the directors. These rules, stripped of much of their meaning and potential, were introduced in 2009, when the Joint Stock Company Act came into effect. Had this Act come about 15 years ago, the takeover rules, as imperfect as they were, could have played a positive role…