Ownership
Portugal Telecom is a publicly traded company. As of 15 November 2011 its major stockholders are Espírito Santo Financial Group (11.30%), RS Holding (10.05%), Capital Research and Management (9.97%), Oi (7.00%), Caixa Geral de Depósitos (6.23%), Brandes Investment Partners (5.24%) and Norges Bank (5.01%).
After privatisation the Portuguese government owned 500 golden shares in PT, which carried special rights over the company's management decisions and blocked any one shareholder from holding more than 10% of voting rights within the company. The golden shares were the subject of a long running dispute between the government and the European Commission, which alleged that their existence was illegal under EU law. Portugal argued that the shares were in the public interest. A case brought before the European Court of Justice by the Commission to force the government to cede its shares resulted in the announcement of their abolition in July 2011.
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