Allmennaksjeselskap

Allmennaksjeselskap (literally "public stock company"), or ASA, is the Norwegian term for a public limited company. "ASA" or "asa" is added to the company name of all Norwegian companies registered as Allmennaksjeselskap.

The ASA differentiates from the Aksjeselskap, or AS, in that it has rules regulating its ownership. There cannot be any rules limiting the company's ownership to certain interests, and an ASA must offer a public tender to purchase stock, either new stock or from existing owners if the company is converted from an AS. Norwegian companies, both those listed on a and banks, must be ASAs (banks, however, are exempt from certain regulation including ownership regulation). An ASA is required to have a capital of NOK 1 million; a board with at least 40% of its members from each gender as well as an auditor.

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