127. Short title and commencement PaM 1 5 10 15 General Provisions, Interpretation and Amendments affecting Chapter 1 20 Amendment of section 1 of Act 71 of 2008 1. (I) Section I of the Companies Act. 2008 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), is hereby amended- ( a) by the insertion before the definition of "advertisement" of the following definitions: ledgers and other documents and books used in "'accounting records' means information in written or electronic form concerning the financial affairs of a company as required in terms of this Act, including but not limited to, purchase and sales records, general and the subsidiary preparation of financial statements; 'acquiring party', when used in respect of a transaction or proposed transaction, means a person who, as a result of the transaction, would directly or indirectly acquire or establish direct or indirect control or increased control over all or the greater part of a company, or all or the greater part of the assets or undertaking of a company;"; (b) by the insertion before the definition of "alterable provision"' of the following definition: 25 30 35 "'all or the greater part of the assets or undertaking', when used in respect of a company, means- ( a) in the case of the company's assets, more than 50% of its gross 40 assets fairly valued, irrespective of its liabilities; or in the case of the company's undertaking, more than 50% of the value of its entire undertaking. fairly valued;"; (b) (c) by the substitution in the definition of "amalgamation or merger" for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph: 45 "(b) the survival of at least one of the amalgamating or merging companies, with or without the formation of one [ore] or more new companies, and the vesting in the surviving company or companies, together with any such new company or companies, of all of the assets and liabilities that were held by any of the amalgamating or 50 merging companies immediately before the implementation of the agreement;''; (d) by the substitution for the definition of "audit"' of the following definition: "'audit' has the meaning set out in the Auditing Profession Act, but does not include an 'independent review' of annual financial statements, as 55 contemplated in section 30(2)( b )(ii)( bb );"; 10 No. 34243 GOVERNMENT GAZE'ITE, 20 APRIL 2011 Act No. 3 of 2011 COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT. 2011 (e) by the substitution for the definition of "auditor" of following definition: "'auditor' has the meaning set out in the Auditing [Professions] Profession Act;"; (f) by the substitution for the definition of "Banks Act" of the following definition: 5 "'Banks Act' means the Banks Act, [1993 (Act No. 124 of 1993)) 1990 (Act No. 94 of 1990):": (g) by the substitution in the definition of "company" of the words preceding paragraph (a) of the following words: "'company' means a juristic person incorporated in terms of this Act,!!: 10 domesticated company, or a juristic person that, immediately before the effective date-"; (h) by the substitution for the definition of "convertible securities" of the following definition: "'convertible [securities]', when used in relation to any securities of a 15 company, means [any] securities [of a company) that may, by their terms, be converted into other securities of the company, including- ( a) any non-voting securities issued by [a) the company and which will become voting securities- (i) on the happening of a designated event: or (ii) if the holder of those securities so elects at some time after 20 acquiring them; and (b) options to acquire securities to be issued by the company, irrespective of whether [or not] those securities may be voting securities, or non-voting securities contemplated in paragraph 25 (a);"; (i) in the definition of "distribution"- (i) by the substitution in paragraph (a) for the words preceding subpara- graph (i) of the following words: "transfer by a company of money or other property of the company, 30 other than its own shares, to or for the benefit of one or more holders of any of the shares, or to the holder of a beneficial interest in any such shares, of that company or of another company within the same group of companies, whether-"; (ii) by the substitution in paragraph (a)(iii) for the words preceding 35 subparagraph (aa) of the following words: "[is] as consideration for the acquisition-"; (iii) by the substitution for paragraph(<') of the following paragraph: "(c) forgiveness or waiver by a company of a debt or other obligation owed to the company by one or more holders of any of the shares of 40 that company or of anothercompany within the same group of companies,''; (j) by the insertion before the definition of "effective date" of the following definition: "'domesticated company' means a foreign company whose registra- 45 tion has been transferred to the Republic in terms of section 13(5) to !.!!1."; (k) by the substitution for the definition of "group of companies" of the following definition: "'group of companies' means [two or more companies that share] a 50 holding company [or subsidiary relationship] and all of its subsidiar· ies;"; {I) by the substitution for the definition of "holding company" of the following definition: "'holding company', in relation to a subsidiary, means a juristic person 55 [or undertaking] that controls that subsidiary as a result of any circumstances contemplated in section 2(2)(a) or 3( I )(a):": (m) by the substitution for the definition of "inspector" of the following definition: " "inspector' means a person appointed as such in terms of section 60 209l,!2;"; 12 No. 34243 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. 20 APRIL 2011 Act No. 3 of 2011 COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT, 2011 (n) by the delction of the definition of "investigator"; (o) by the substitution for the definition of "inter-related" of the following definition: '''inter-related', when used in respect of three or more persons. means persons who are related to one another in a linked series of relationships, such that two of the persons are related in a manner [as] contemplated in section 2(1 )[(d)], and one of them is related to the third in any such manner, and so forth in an unbroken series;"; (p) by the insertion after the definition of "inter-related" of the following definition: .. 'investigator' means a person appointed as such in tenns of section 209(3);"; (q) by t~stitution in the definition of "knowing", "knowingly" or "knows" for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: "(a) had actual knowledge of [that] the mauer; or"; 5 I 0 15 (r) by the substitution for the definition of "Master" of the following definition: "'Master' means the [person holding the office of that name in terms of the Supreme Court Act, 1959 (Act No. 59 of 1959)] officer of the High Court, referred to in section 2 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1965 (Act No. 66 of 1965), who has jurisdiction over a particular matter 20 arising in terms of this Act;"; (s) by the substitution for the definition of "member" of the following definition: "'member', when used in reference to- ( a) a close corporation, has the meaningset out in section l of the Close 25 Corporations Act, 1984 (Act No. 69 of 1984 ); or (b) a non-profit company, means a person who holds membership in, and specified rights in respect of, that non-profit company, as contemplated in [item 4 of] Schedule 1; or (c) any other entity, means a person who is a constituent part of that 30 entity;"; (t) by the sub"itution for the definition of "Memorandum of Incorporation" of the following definition: "'Memorandum'. or 'Memorandum of Incorporation', means the document, as amended from time to time [-(a)] that sets out rights. 35 duties and rcsponsibi1itics of shareholders, directors and others within and in relation to a company, and other matters as contemplated in section 15 I; and (b)] and by which- ((i)] (a) the company was incorporated under this Act, as contem- plated in section 13; [or] 1.£1 a pre-existing company was structured and governed before [(ii)] the later of the- [(aa)] ill [the] effective date; or [(bb)] @ [the]date it was converted to a company in terms of Schedule 2; or 40 45 (u) by the substitution for the definition of "ordinary resolution" of the (c) a domesticated company is structured and governed;''; following definition: '''ordinary resolution' means a resolution adopted with the support of more than 50% of the voting rights exercised on the resolution, or a 50 higher percentage as contemplated in section 65(8)- (u) at a shareholders meeting[, with the support of more than 50% of the voting rights exercised on the resolution, or a higher percentage as contemplated in section 65(8)]; or (b) by holders of [a] the company's securities acting other than at a 55 meeting, as contemplated in section 60;"; (v) by the substitution for the definition of "personal liability company" of the following definition: "'personal liability company' means a profit company I whose Memorandum of Incorporation states that the company is a 60 personal liability company, as contemplated] that satisfies the criteria in section 8(2)(c);"; 14 No. 34243 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 20 APRIL 2011 Act No. 3 or 201 I COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT, 2011 (w) by the substitution for the definition of "pre-incorporation contract" of the following definition: '''pre-incorporation contract' means [an] a written agreement entered into before the incorporation of a company by a person who purports to act in the name of, or on behalf of, the proposed company, with the intention or understanding that the proposed company will be incorpo rated, and will thereafter be bound by the agreement;"; 5 (x) by the substitution for the definition of "prescribed officer" of the following definition: '"prescribed officer' means [the bolder of an office] a person who, within a company, performs any function that has been designated by the Minister in terms of section 66[(11)] (10);"; I 0 (y) by the substitution in the definition of "private company" for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: "(a) is not a [company or a] public, personal liability, or state-owned IS company; and"; ( z) in the definition of "registration certificate"- (i) by the insertion at the end of paragraph (c) of the expression "or"; and (ii) by the insertion after paragraph (c) of the following paragraph: 20 "(d) a domesticated company, means the certificate issued to it upon the transfer of its registration to the Republic in terms of section 13(5) to (11);"; (aa) by the substitution for the definition of "securities" of the following definition: "'securities' [has the meaning set out in section 1 of the Securities Services Act, 2004 (Act No. 36 of 2004), and includes shares held in a private company] means any shares, debentures or other instruments, irrespective of their form or title, issued or authorised to be issued by a profit company;"; (bb) by the insertion after the definition of "securities" of the following 25 30 definitions: "'securities register' means the register required to be established by a profit company in terms of section 50( I); 'series of integrated transactions' has the meaning set out in section 35 41(4)(b);"; ( cc) by the substitution for the definition of "special resolution" of the following definition: "'special resolution' means [a resolution adopted]- ( a) in the case of a company, a resolution adopted with the support of at 40 least 75% of the voting rights exercised on the resolutlon, or a different percentage as contemplated in section 65(10)- ill at a shareholders meeting[, with the support of at least 75% of the voting rights exercised on the resolution, or a lower percentage as contemplated in section 65(10)]; or ((b)] @ by holders of [a] the company's securities acting-other than at 45 a meeting, as contemplated in section 60; or (b) in the case of any other juristic person, a decisiOn by the owner or owners of that person, or by another authorised person, that requires the highest level of support in order to be adopted, in terms of the 50 relevant law under which that juristic person wa"i incorporated;"; and (dd) by the substitution in the definition of "state-owned company" for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: "(a) [falls within the meaning of 'state-owned enterprise' in terms] is 55 listed as a public entity in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. I of 1999); or". 16 No. 34243 GOVERNMENT GAZETIE, 20 APRIL 2011 Act No. 3 of 2011 COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT, 2011 Amendment of section 4 of Act 71 of 2008