Controlling interest definition

A controlling interest in a company is the ownership of more than 50% of the voting shares (at least 50% plus one share). When controlling interest is at issue, it's necessary to differentiate ownership of voting shares from that of non-voting shares.

There are other control opportunities, for example, when a company requires a super-majority (i.e. 2/3) of shares to pass a certain kind of motion, a party controlling just over 1/3 of the shares could influence the decision.