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Participating dividend meaning

What does Participating dividend mean?
A participating dividend is a distribution that allows the relevant shares to share in a company’s distributable profits, usually after any fixed preferential amount and commonly pro rata with ordinary shares. It is not tied to the shares’ nominal (par) value or to any share premium. The term is not defined in statute; it is a descriptive label used in company law practice across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and its effect depends on the company’s articles of association or the terms of issue. It most often appears with participating preference shares, where holders receive: (1) a fixed preference dividend; and (2) an additional participation in surplus profits, sometimes subject to a cap. The ranking, basis of calculation (for example, percentage of profits or per-share participation), whether the dividend is cumulative or non-cumulative, and any board discretion, must be set out expressly. Participating dividends may only be paid from distributable profits (Companies Act 2006, Part 23; Companies Act 2014 (Ireland)). Some instruments also provide for participation in surplus assets on a winding up, but only if expressly drafted. Usage is broadly consistent across the UK and Ireland.
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View the related Practice Notes about Participating dividend

PRACTICE NOTES
Acquisition and Leveraged Finance: Practitioner’s A–Z of Terms, Covenants, Structures and Jargon

This glossary sets out many of the expressions commonly used in the leveraged finance market. Words appearing in the definitions in bold are defined elsewhere in this glossary. For further banking terminology, please refer to the main Banking & Finance Glossary... Acquisition finance glossary—A Acceleration Acceleration is the formal action taken by the agent, on the instructions of the majority lenders, following an event of default, such as making a demand for early repayment of the loan. See Practice Note: Accelerating a loan for more information... Accordion feature/accordion facility An accordion, also called an incremental debt feature, is a mechanism in the facilities agreement that, provided specified conditions are satisfied (for example, pro forma compliance with a leverage test), permits those lenders under the facilities agreement who wish to do so to advance additional debt. The terms for that extra debt are typically captured in an increase notice. This accordion or incremental debt flexibility is different from structural adjustment, which usually requires the majority consent...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Treaty residence in DTTs: ‘liable to tax’, MAP/POEM tie-breakers, and treatment of partnerships, trusts, funds and exempt bodies

The concept of being ‘resident in a contracting state’ is key in a double tax treaty (DTT) because: Double tax treaties apply solely to persons who are resident in one or both contracting states, whether individuals or entities, for the purposes of the treaty. The concept is also employed throughout numerous treaty provisions to allocate taxing rights between the participating states; for instance, dividend articles often stipulate, under the terms of the relevant article, that a dividend paid by a resident of one contracting state to a resident of the other contracting state is taxable exclusively in the latter jurisdiction. Accordingly, when advising a taxpayer about their position under a DTT, it is essential first to ascertain where that taxpayer is resident for the purposes of the treaty, which may not align with the residence attributed under domestic legislation, and can therefore materially affect the outcome...

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View the related Precedents about Participating dividend

PRECEDENTS
Precedent articles provisions for preference shares: fixed and profit-linked participating dividends (non-leveraged investment)

Add the following new definitions in Article 2.1: Accounts • means, for each financial year of the Company, the audited [ consolidated ] balance sheet together with the profit and loss accounts of the Company and its subsidiary undertakings, prepared on the historical cost basis and in line with generally accepted accounting principles and all applicable accounting standards, Statements of Standard Accounting Practice, Financial Reporting Standards and Statements of Recommended Practice; After Tax Profit • means the amount of the profit [ (including any unrealised profits) ] of the Group for the relevant financial year (as shown by the Accounts): (a) before any provision or reserve has been made for or in respect of: i the payment of any dividend or other distribution on or in respect of any Shares or the transfer of any sum to reserves; ii the redemption of the [ Preferred Shares OR Loan Notes ]; and iii the amortisation or write-off of goodwill arising on consolidation; and (b) after provision has...

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