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Definition

Shares which cannot vote at shareholder meetings. In general, the people who contribute capital to a business have the right to vote in direct proportion to the amount of capital contributed. Non-voting shares are shares which specifically do not have that right but rank in all other respects the same as voting shares. Often these shares are preference shares. The voting rights of an ordinary share are usually in direct proportion to its par value. Some shares in South Africa are "N" shares which have an extremely low par value - which has the effect of reducing their voting power. For example, Naspers "N" shares only control 32,6% of the vote and have contributed the bulk of its capital. In effect the "A" ordinary shares of Naspers have 1000 times the voting power of the "N" shares. "N" shares are generally frowned upon by investors which probably accounts for most of the significant discount that Naspers shares trade at to the value of its underlying assets.

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