Chair
Nicole Van Ranst
Closely Held Companies Committee
The mission of the Committee is to address issues of particular interest to start ups, owner-managed, closely held and family businesses and their legal advisors, and to organisations with ambitions for growth. The Committee's aim is to provide a focus for the different needs of ownership, management and financing of such organisations. Particular focus is placed on: management and ownership issues, finance and the raising of tier one and two capital, shareholder issues and agreements, business succession plans, exit planning, relationships with outside investors, protection of minority interests, dispute monitoring and resolution, the role of professionals in management and advisory roles and relevant issues arising from tax, employment, real estate, estate planning and family law.
Forthcoming conferences and webinars View All Conferences
8th Annual IBA European Start-up Conference
25 Sep 2025
Lisbon , Portugal
IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025
02 Nov - 07 Nov 2025
Toronto , Canada
IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
04 Oct - 09 Oct 2026
Copenhagen , Denmark
Publications
Interactive workshop one: selected corporate governance topics (part I), 13 May 2024
After a brief introduction of the six main topics and the corresponding moderators by the chairpersons, the auditorium was divided into a total of 12 tables, two tables with one moderator per topic. The moderators had each prepared their topic in advance with a list of questions so that the results of the two tables per topic were comparable. The results were then compared and summarised by the moderators after a discussion lasting around 30 minutes. The results thus obtained were then presented by the moderator teams for each topic.
Released on Aug 11, 2024
Report – 8th IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference: Venturing and Discovering Overseas Markets
Shaw writes up a report of the ‘Trends in corporate and venture capital to fuel growth of disruptive businesses’ session form the 8th Annual IBA Global Entrepreneurship Conference. Shaw provides a helpful breakdown of the panellists’ insights and responses to questions given during the session.
Released on Aug 11, 2024
A general counsel’s view: supporting business and hedging risks in overseas markets
In this session, a panel of general counsel shared insights on how they are safeguarding business operations in overseas markets and how legal strategies can be used to effectively hedge risks, ensuring a robust legal framework that fosters success in the international field. More precisely, the question addressed by the Co-Chairs was to find out ‘What is the work of the general counsel within the process of internationalisation of the business and how does it impact on the relationship with external counsel?’. The panel addressed compliance issues and how to manage risks, conflicts and litigation.
Released on Aug 11, 2024
Corporate investors: panel report
The panel discussed the benefits and perceived drawbacks of investments by strategic investors, as compared to traditional financial or sectorial venture capital (VC) investors. The speakers highlighted the difference in investment horizons, noting that strategic investors generally prefer longer term investments, while financial investors typically seek to exit the business after three to seven years.
Released on Aug 11, 2024
Projects and reports
The IBA Guide on Shareholders’ Agreements
The IBA Guide on Shareholders' Agreements, prepared by this Committee, provides practical information on the legal rules on shareholders’ agreements and their application in each contributing jurisdiction. Many of the submissions have been updated (as indicated).
Subcommittees and other groups
The Closely Held Companies Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.
- Closely Held Companies Committee Advisory Board
Join us on LinkedIn
If you are a member of the Closely Held Companies Committee, for additional networking opportunities, programs, interviews with fellow members and tips all exclusive to members, join our LinkedIn page at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9861209/.