Section 45 — Companies Act 1993: Pre-emptive rights

45 Pre-emptive rights (1) Shares issued or proposed to be issued by a company that rank or would rank as to voting or distribution rights, or both, equally with or prior to shares already issued by the company must be offered for acquisition to the holders of the shares already issued in a manner and on terms that would, if accepted, maintain the existing voting or distribution rights, or both, of those holders. (2) An offer under subsection (1) of this section must remain open for acceptance for a reasonable time. (3) The constitution of a company may negate, limit, or modify the requirements of this section.