Controlling interest

A controlling interest is an <a href="/facts/Ownership_interest/dI4oAYoD">ownership interest</a> in a corporation with enough voting <a href="/facts/Share_capital/JHuhfhaG">stock</a> shares to prevail in any <a href="/facts/Stockholder/LjuL2KPt">stockholders</a>' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the majority of the voting shares, other present circumstances can be considered to determine whether that party is still considered to hold a controlling ownership interest.
In the United States, <a href="/facts/Delaware_General_Corporation_Law/MxqqcwGv">Delaware corporations</a> have a 2/3 vote requirement for a motion to pass. In theory, this could mean that a controlling interest would have to be over two-thirds of the voting shares.
A 2019 study published in the <a href="/facts/Virginia_Law_Review/St1sXmWD">Virginia Law Review</a> said dual-class stock structures, common to newly public technology companies, creates governance risks and costs, including the potential loss of <a href="/facts/Value_(economics)/76jsyB6X">economic value</a> for non-voting shares held by public investors.

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Controlling interest