Can someone tell me what % of share's a person should own in a company to avoid a hostile takeover?

Question

If they owned 51% of the shares would they be at risk for a hostile takeover? I'm just trying to get a basic idea of how many shares I should buy in a business deal I may pursue while avoid being a sitting duck if I only bought 25% of the shares. Thank you.

Answer 1

50% plus 1 share = majority ownership.
Nobody can outvote you.

However, be very clear on the voting rights of various classes of shareholders in your company. For example, McClatchy Newspapers issued two classes of shares - publicly-traded shares and family shares. The family shares can vote at a higher percentage than publicly-traded shares to protect against hostile takevovers.

Each company is different. The vast majority of companies have only public shares. Some also have preferred shares - with a higher probability of receiving a dividend, but almost always no right to vote. And a tiny minority have special (eg family) classes of shares.

Answer 2

If you owned a majority of the shares, it would prevent a hostile takeover, since you would have enough votes on your won to vote it down.

Answer 3

You need to own the majority, which is 51% to avoid a takeout.