A ruling by the European Court of Justice that golden shares are illegal under European Union law in all but exceptional cases could open the door to more cross-border takeovers of privatised but protected European companies.
The ruling sent a strong warning over a practice that has been widely used by governments to maintain national control and veto foreign takeovers of important companies. The ruling said the provisions undermined the free movement of capital, though golden shares could be justified in the case of a "strategic interest".
