Golden shares: a tarnished solution that smacks of protectionism - FT中文网
登录×
电子邮件/用户名
密码
记住我
请输入邮箱和密码进行绑定操作:
请输入手机号码,通过短信验证(目前仅支持中国大陆地区的手机号):
请您阅读我们的用户注册协议隐私权保护政策,点击下方按钮即视为您接受。
FT商学院

Golden shares: a tarnished solution that smacks of protectionism

State shares take a toll in terms of performance and free markets

State-held shares are back on the agenda. Popular during Europe’s wave of privatisation in the 1970s and 80s, so called golden shares — spezialaktie in Germany — allowed governments to wield control over a slew of public companies including utilities and oil and gas majors. By far the bulk had been redeemed by the turn of the millennium.

With globalisation in retreat and protectionism firmly re-ensconced, British politicians are hoping to spark a revival. The defence committee wants them reinstated across defence companies, irked at US private equity owned Cobham’s $3.6bn bid for Ultra Electronics. More speciously, MP Tom Tugendhat is angling for a government share — and a 25.1 per cent stake — in Arm, the chip designer, which owner SoftBank plans to list in New York after its planned $40bn sale to Nvidia collapsed. Echoing Washington and Beijing, he argues that national security is part and parcel of technological leadership.

State shares, like those held by tech founders, take a toll in terms of performance and free markets. An asymmetric veto on takeovers deprives other shareholders of the opportunity to sell; a particular handicap in the UK’s M&A-heavy market. Take the redemption of golden shares in water and electricity utilities in the mid-1990s. To the dismay of politicians, this unleashed a flurry of bids and within two years all but one of the 12 regional electricity companies had been flogged.

The European Commission, more concerned at the impediment to the free flow of capital, was largely successful in stamping them out although holdouts — especially in the UK — remain. These include BAE and Rolls-Royce, both of which operate defence capabilities.

There is a case to be made for government vetoes when it comes to national security. Golden shares also have a use elsewhere, such as fostering environmental or social missions. The Thomson family’s founders’ share in Thomson Reuters, designed to safeguard independence and lack of bias in reporting, also makes sense. Slapping similar government rights on to tech companies does not.

版权声明:本文版权归FT中文网所有,未经允许任何单位或个人不得转载,复制或以任何其他方式使用本文全部或部分,侵权必究。

美国通胀会再次抬头吗?

欧元区通胀将以多快的速度上升?欧洲天然气价格会继续上涨吗?

俄罗斯招募也门雇佣军在乌克兰作战

与胡塞武装有关的神秘公司诱骗男子加入莫斯科的战争机器。

令人大开眼界的时间测量新科学

在科罗拉多州没有窗户的实验室里,摆放着20台原子钟,全世界都在用它们来计时。它们几乎跟不上。

特朗普政府财政部长之争的内幕

贝森特在当选总统的宫廷内部经过激烈的影响力争夺战后获胜。

比特币和香蕉成为新的炫耀性消费品

两者都加入了无用物品的精英世界,价格越高越受欢迎。

Bluesky趁X用户流失迅速崛起,Threads未能抓住机会

在X遭遇大量用户流失之际,Meta旗下的Threads却将机会让给了只有20个员工的Bluesky。
设置字号×
最小
较小
默认
较大
最大
分享×