Abstract:

Everywhere in the world, the acquisition of own shares is a very sensitive issue. In this way, trading companies (enterprises) become their own members (owners), which is against the principle of separation of company members. Own shares should be acquired only in exceptional cases, because their unlimited and unconditional acquisition would lead to the erosion of the capital stock. Therefore, all legislation in the world by adopting appropriate regulations, they protect the interests of shareholders, capital owners. In Croatia, issues related to the acquisition of own shares have been settled by the Law on Commercial Companies. This work analyzes the purchase of own shares as a means of protection against a hostile takeover. A key question arises: Is buying back own shares a socially responsible business strategy? The aim of this paper is to detect the types and methods of purchasing own shares of Croatian companies in accordance with the principles of corporate social responsibility.