Where pre-emptive rights exist, existing shareholders must be offered their proportionate share of any new allotment of shares before the shares are offered to anyone else.

Pre-emptive Rights

Pre-emptive rights, in corporate law, are rights given to existing shareholders to purchase additional shares before they are offered to new potential shareholders, usually to maintain their proportional ownership in the company.

Proportionate Share

Refers to an individual's or entity's portion or share of a total amount, calculated based on specific criteria or ratios.

Allotment

The distribution or assignment of a portion of something, often referring to shares of stock, land, or time.