Corporate action

A corporate action (also known as a corporate event) is a change that affects shares or debt that has been issued.

Corporate actions are typically agreed upon by a company's board of directors, then authorised by the shareholders. Examples of corporate actions include rights issues, open offers, offers for subscription and schemes of arrangement.

Some corporate actions are ‘voluntary’, meaning they require the shareholder to decide on a course of action. An example of a voluntary corporate action is a takeover.

Others are ‘mandatory’, meaning they’ll go ahead without any action needed from the shareholder. An example of a mandatory corporate action is a merger.