Can anyone explain the difference between ordinary shares and B shares is there a value difference?
The differences between ordinary (perhaps called Class A Shares) and Class B Shares depends what the articles of association of the comapny in question say about them. Typically, Class B Shares will have fewer or no voting rights in the company and holders of the B Shares may not have a right to any repayment on a winding-up of the company. In the UK, they are sometimes offered to shareholders of PLCs instead of a dividend. The Class B Shares may then be redeemed for cash, perhaps at any time or, more commonly, at a certain time each year when the company makes an offer to buy them at a certain price. It is possible that they might also be convertable into ordinary shares. For a listed company, the B Share will have a separate price that will be different from, and may fluctuate separately from, the ordinary shares. The market may not be as liquid for B Shares. A company may choose to issue B Shares rather than a dividend because there are some tax benefits for the comany in doing so.
