АНАЛІЗ СТРУКТУРИ ВЛАСНОСТІ КОРПОРАЦІЙ З МЕТОЮ ВСТАНОВЛЕННЯ КІНЦЕВИХ БЕНЕФІЦІАРНИХ ВЛАСНИКІВ

Abstract

Over the past few decades, large corporate groups have been spreading throughout the world, merging new companies and forming more and more hierarchical corporate structures. Subsequently, certain executives and investors have faced an issue concerned with identifying an amount of shares a parent company (beneficial owner) really holds in a subsidiary, associate, or join venture within the convoluted shareholding structure. Having researched the intra-group shareholding structures of the great number of transnational corporations, scientists ascertained the most widespread types of shareholding structure, namely direct, cascade, cross, and pyramidal ones. The direct shareholding structure contemplates a situation when one company directly holds another company. Under the cascade shareholding structure, a parent company holds shares in a firm directly and, simultaneously, holds shares in the same company through another company. The parent company may use the mediating company when some factors restrict the parent company to buy shares in the firm directly and openly. The cross shareholding structure implies that two or more companies hold at least 0.5% of shares in each other or via a circular or more complex cross-shareholding arrangement. With the pyramidal shareholding structure, a parent company exercises control through a chain of controlled companies. The pyramidal structure results in a situation when a shareholder gains voting power being disproportionate with his or her economic interests. The article discloses procedures for calculating an ownership share of an ultimate beneficiary owner (parent company) in equity of business organizations. Thus, the complicated structure of contemporary corporate groups may lead to difficulties in indicating beneficial owners of such corporate groups. This factor stipulates the emergence of opportunities for tax evasion and money laundering.