Shareholder agreements & articles of association

Shareholders’ agreements and articles of association are important legal documents for regulating the relationship between shareholders and the company.

The articles of association are a mandatory document that set out the company’s business, structure, and certain fundamental rules – for example, the number of shares, how the board of directors is appointed, and how general meetings are to be conducted. The articles of association must be registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket) and are binding on third parties.Bolagsordningen är ett obligatoriskt dokument som fastställer företagets verksamhet, struktur och vissa grundläggande regler – till exempel hur många aktier som finns, hur styrelsen utses och hur bolagsstämmor ska genomföras. Bolagsordningen ska registreras hos Bolagsverket och är bindande gentemot tredje man.

The shareholders’ agreement is a voluntary contract between the company’s owners regulating how their mutual relations are to function. It may, for example, include conditions on pre-emption rights, share transfers, financing, procedures in the event of an owner’s death, or how conflicts between shareholders are to be resolved. Unlike the articles of association, the shareholders’ agreement is binding only between the parties who have signed it.

Together, the shareholders’ agreement and articles of association complement each other by providing a clear framework for both operational management and ownership relations, thereby reducing the risk of future disputes and uncertainties.