Golden delicious share
The Golden delicious Share (" action spécifique") allows that which holds it to preserve a right to veto on the whole of the Capital of a company in certain specific circumstances. They are often held by a State in the case of a public company subjected to the privatization process and of transformation into company with dimensions. The Golden delicious share is limited in time.
The term of golden delicious share appeared in the years 1980 when the British government preserved gloden shares in the companies that it privatisa. The golden delicious share were used thereafter in other European States, that they are Netherlands (TNT), Spain (Endesa) or Germany (in Volkswagen via the Land of Lower Saxony).
The golden delicious share was also introduced in Russia (Zolotaya Aktsiya, " ЗолотаяАкция" in Russian) through a law on the initiative of the Kremlin, on November 16th, 1992.
The legality of the golden delicious shares is currently called into question by the Court of justice of the European Communities, even if the principle even of the “goldens delicious share” were not invalidated.
Thus, the golden delicious share of the British government on BAA, the British airport authority, were condemned by the Court of justice of the European Communities (CJCE) because she contravened the principle of liberty of circulation.
With “the complete stop” of 2002, CJCE considered that a State could not preserve an “unjustified” right to watch in a privatized company. In 1993, at the time of the opening of the capital of Elf Aquitaine, the French government indeed had seen itself allotted a golden delicious share allowing him to block any process of hostile tender offer.
Several others golden delicious shares were considered illegal in particular those held by the Spanish government in Telefonica, Repsol YPF, Endesa, Argentaria and Tabacalera.