Corporate · Concept
Preferred Share
A class of share carrying enhanced rights over ordinary shares — typically liquidation preference, dividend preference, anti-dilution protection and special voting on key decisions.
In practice
VC-backed startups typically issue preferred shares to investors in each funding round, with founders and employees holding ordinary shares. ADGM and DIFC's English common-law regime supports the full toolkit of preferred share rights (1x non-participating, 1x participating, weighted-average anti-dilution, etc.). Civil-law UAE free zones can do it but with more friction.