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Definition

A class of shares (usually ordinary shares or equity shares) which can vote at shareholder's meetings. Some shares are specifically non-voting. These are usually preference shares. The voting power of ordinary shares is usually determined by the par value (i.e. the value for which they were first sold to the public). In South Africa some companies still have "N" shares which have a very low par value and hence a very low level of voting power. The classic example of this is Naspers where the "A" ordinary shares have 1000 times the voting power of the "N" shares - effectively giving control of the company to a minority of shareholders. This type of capital structure is frowned upon by the investment community and probably accounts for much of the considerable discount which Naspers trades at to the value of its assets.

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