A Shareholders' Consent to Action Without Meeting, or a consent resolution, is a written statement that describes and validates a course of action taken by the shareholders of a particular corporation without a meeting having to take place between directors and/or shareholders.
Shareholder action taken by written consent is universally recognized as a valid approval by shareholders and this is expressly confirmed by California statute. The 10-day waiting period acts to delay the effectiveness of the action, which hinders a corporation's ability to act with speed and efficiency when necessary.
Every California and registered foreign limited liability company must file a Statement of Information with the California Secretary of State, within 90 days of registering with the California Secretary of State, and every two years thereafter during a specific 6-month filing period based on the original registration ...
This means that where an acquiring party owns more than 50%, but less than 90% of the shares of the target corporation prior to the merger, unanimous shareholder approval is required for the transaction to occur.
Failure to file the required Statement of Information with the Secretary of State as outlined in statute may result in penalties being assessed by the Franchise Tax Board and suspension or forfeiture.
A Stockholder Consent is the authorization of stockholders to carry out a specific corporate action. For example, a Stockholder Consent is used to elect or remove a member of the Board of Directors, approve a merger, and implement a Stock Incentive Plan (SIP).
Consents and resolutions are written consents and resolutions of shareholders, members, partners, directors and managers approving M&A transactions and related transactions, such as officer appointments, amendments to governance documents, financings and issuances of shares and other securities.
How much notice must be given? The general rule is that at least 21 days' notice must be given, although constitutions may specify longer. More than 28 days' notice must be given for listed companies regardless of what the company constitution says (s 249HA).