Database ID 2024-08-2-269-001

Database Case: Shanghai Company v. Shanghai Equity Investment Center et al., with Ye Moumou as Third Party

The court characterized the repurchase obligation arising after failure of the VAM arrangement as a conditional internal equity transfer rather than an ordinary transfer to an outside third party, and therefore held that statutory shareholder pre-emption rules did not apply. Where the original shareholders jointly undertook an irrevocable joint-liability obligation, the investor could enforce joint repurchase liability against them.

Holding

The court characterized the repurchase obligation arising after failure of the VAM arrangement as a conditional internal equity transfer rather than an ordinary transfer to an outside third party, and therefore held that statutory shareholder pre-emption rules did not apply. Where the original shareholders jointly undertook an irrevocable joint-liability obligation, the investor could enforce joint repurchase liability against them.

Issues

whether a post-VAM-failure buyback is subject to shareholder pre-emption rightsthe effect of nominee shareholding and delegated signatures on buyback validitywhether the original shareholders bear joint repurchase liability