Allmennaksjeselskap

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Allmennaksjeselskap (literally "public stock company"), or ASA, is the Norwegian term for a public limited company. "ASA" or "asa" is added to the company name of all Norwegian companies registered as Allmennaksjeselskap.

The ASA differentiates from the Aksjeselskap or AS in that it has rules regulating its ownership. There cannot be any rules limiting the company's ownership to certain interests and an ASA must offer a public tender to purchase stock, either new stock or from existing owners if the company is converted from an AS. Norwegian companies, listed on a Stock Exchange, and banks must be ASAs (the latter are exempt from certain regulation though, including ownership regulation). An ASA is required to have a capital of NOK 1 million, a board consisting of at least 40% members of each gender, and an auditor.