Reference
Glossary
Every term on this site, in English and Estonian.
Some steward ownership terms have no settled Estonian equivalent yet. We mark those, and welcome suggestions.
23 terms
- Articles of association põhikiri
- The company’s constitution, filed with the Commercial Register. In a steward-owned company it contains the two rules and the lock.
- Asset lock varalukk
- The rule that the company’s value cannot be distributed to the people who control it, including on a sale or liquidation.
- Buy-back / redemption tagasiost
- The company acquiring its own shares from a shareholder, often used to pay out investors or a departing owner over time.
- Commercial Code äriseadustik
- The Estonian statute governing companies, including the OÜ and AS.
- Commercial Register äriregister
- The Estonian public register of companies, foundations and associations, kept by the Registrite ja Infosüsteemide Keskus (RIK).
- Foundation sihtasutus (SA)
- An Estonian legal person without members or owners, set up to manage assets for a purpose defined in its charter. A natural candidate for owner or guardian.
- Foundations Act sihtasutuste seadus
- The Estonian statute governing foundations.
- General meeting osanike koosolek / üldkoosolek
- The meeting of shareholders. In a steward-owned company, the stewards’ votes decide here.
- Guardian eestkostja sihtasutus
- The independent body, usually a foundation, that holds the golden share and protects the two rules.
- Income Tax Act tulumaksuseadus
- The Estonian statute that, among other things, taxes companies on distributed rather than retained profit.
- Management board juhatus
- The body that runs the company day to day and represents it.
- Non-profit association mittetulundusühing (MTÜ)
- An Estonian membership organisation that may not distribute profit to its members.
- Pre-emption right ostueesõigus
- The right of existing shareholders to buy shares before they are sold to an outsider.
- Private limited company osaühing (OÜ)
- The most common Estonian company form. Its shares are called osad.
- Public limited company aktsiaselts (AS)
- Estonian company form with aktsiad (shares), required for listing and suited to larger companies.
- Revenue-based financing käibepõhine rahastus
- Financing repaid as a share of revenue until an agreed multiple of the original amount has been paid.
- Steward hoidja
- A person who holds voting rights in a steward-owned company because of their role in it, not because they invested money. Stewards cannot sell or bequeath their votes.
- Steward ownership steward ownership
- A way of owning a company so that control stays with people connected to it and profits serve the company, not its owners. No settled Estonian term yet.
- Supervisory board nõukogu
- The body that supervises the management board. Mandatory in an AS and a foundation, optional in an OÜ.