A shareholders agreement template South Africa companies can use to set out how three shareholders work with each other, alongside the MOI.
Shareholders Agreement Contract Template - 3 or more Shareholders, Long Standard Form MOI Form - South Africa
Long Standard Form MOI for Profit Companies
Summary A Shareholders' Agreement may be considered for the mutual protection of shareholders in a private company incorporated for profit, and strives to ensure that all the shareholders understand their respective rights and obligations in relation to each other.
This Shareholders' Agreement is intended to be used with the Long Standard Form of the Memorandum of Incorporation for Profit Companies.
See also: Shareholders' Agreement - short form MOI
Why do I need a Shareholders' Agreement? A Shareholders' Agreement, amongst other things, strives to set out the procedure to be followed in respect of the appointment of Directors, Board and Shareholder meetings, the sale of shares, the commission of a breach, policies regarding loan accounts, and other company-related issues.
What does the agreement say? The Agreement consists of: Definitions and Interpretation; Introduction; Articles of Association; Working Capital; Loan Accounts and Indebtedness; Guarantees; Directors; Shareholders; Matters requiring Unanimous Consent; Value of Shares; Sale of Shares; Come Along; Tag Along; Transfer of Shares to Family; Forced Sales; Notices; Confidentiality; General.
What does the agreement look like? The document can be printed onto fourteen pages.
What do you need to do to use the Shareholders' Agreement?
- Read the template document to ensure that it suits your requirements. Complete the requisite sections, making changes as required.
- Ensure that the Company’s Memorandum of Incorporation (Long Standard Form for Profit Companies) is updated and properly filed.
- Ensure all the shareholders sign, with each shareholder getting a copy of the final, signed Shareholders' Agreement.
Also viewed: Director's Acknowledgement & Consent
When preparing a Shareholders' Agreement, a working knowledge of the Companies Act is recommended and accordingly a specialist’s advice should be sought.

Why a shareholders agreement matters
Your Memorandum of Incorporation sets out how the company works. A shareholders agreement sets out how the people who own it work with each other, and that is a different question.
It is the document you reach for when one shareholder wants to sell, when someone dies or leaves, when a decision is deadlocked, or when it turns out three people had three different understandings of what was agreed at the start.
Who this template is for
Three shareholders in a South African private company who want the ownership arrangements written down properly, in long form, alongside the MOI.
What you get
- An editable document in Microsoft Word, plus a PDF copy
- Wording drafted and reviewed by a lawyer
- A long-form structure built for three shareholders, to sit with the MOI
- Instant download after purchase
The clauses that earn their keep
- Pre-emptive rights, so shares cannot be sold to an outsider without the others getting first refusal
- What happens on death, disability or a shareholder simply wanting out
- How shares get valued when someone exits
- Which decisions need unanimous agreement rather than a majority
- How a deadlock gets broken
- Restraint of trade and confidentiality
Good to know
A shareholders agreement is a template for you to adapt, not legal advice on your company. Under the Companies Act a shareholders agreement must be consistent with the Act and the MOI, and anything inconsistent is void, so it is worth having an attorney check your final version against your MOI before everyone signs.
The Online Agreements Shop cc and its members, staff, legal advisers, partners and consultants, agents and any person associated therewith cannot be held liable for any loss or damage that is incurred or may be incurred by any person as a direct or indirect result of the use of this website or any document or information contained on or obtained from this website, nor as a result of anything that is contained in or left out of any document.