Golden Share: Definition, Purpose & Government Use

A golden share is a type of share that carries more power than all of the other shares of ownership in a company. This type of share can out vote all of the other shares in a company regardless of what the other shareholders say.

This type of share has been commonly used with government organizations. For example, when a government organization wants to move into the private sector, the government will typically still retain one golden share. Then, when important issues come up in the future, the government will still be able to have the deciding vote. 

The golden share originated in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The British government maintained golden shares in a number of private companies, and therefore, they also maintained the controlling interest in them. 

One of the main objectives of the golden share is to prevent hostile takeovers. With a golden share, it does not matter how many other shares are sold to a single individual in the open market. Even if that individual accumulates more than 50 percent of the outstanding shares, the golden share can still outweigh them in matters that come to a vote.