What are the main reasons for signing a shareholder agreement?

Both in Canada and in Quebec, the main reasons for signing a shareholder agreement allow:

• To avoid the transfer of shares to third parties, during the lifetime of the shareholders or at their death, in particular to the spouses not involved in the business;
• To establish the value of the shares or a mechanism allowing to determine it;
• To identify the situations where a shareholder is required to sell his shares to the others ex. theft, fraud, incapacity, failure to respect a non-competition clause, death;
• To govern the participation of the shareholders in the financing of the business corporation and in the administration.