优先购买权 right of first refusal

优先购买权指的是股东向股东之外的人转让股权时其他股东在同等条件下有优先购买的权利。根据《公司法》第七十一条规定，有限责任公司的股东之间可以相互转让其全部或者部分股权。股东向股东以外的人转让股权，应当经其他股东过半数同意。股东应就其股权转让事项书面通知其他股东征求同意，其他股东自接到书面通知之日起满三十日未答复的，视为同意转让。其他股东半数以上不同意转让的，不同意的股东应当购买该转让的股权；不购买的，视为同意转让。经股东同意转让的股权，在同等条件下，其他股东有优先购买权。由于优先购买权系股东自益权，因此可以由公司章程放弃，或者通过股东协议等进行其他特别约定。股份公司由于其资合性的特点，股东针对其他股东所转让的股权无法定的优先购买权，但是可以由股份公司股东在章程或者股东协议中进行约定。

Right of first refusal (ROFR), also known as first right of refusal, is a contractual right to enter into a business transaction with a person or company before anyone else can. If the party with this right declines to enter into a transaction, the obligor is free to entertain other offers. This is a popular clause among lessees of real estate because it gives them preference to the properties in which they occupy. However, it may limit what the owner could receive from interested parties competing for the property. 以下为相关例句，可供参考：

例句1

Rights of first refusal clauses are similar to options contracts as the holder has the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a transaction that generally involves an asset. The person with this right has the opportunity to establish a contract or an agreement on an asset before others can.

优先购买权条款类似于期权合同，因为持有人有权利但没有义务进行通常涉及资产的交易。拥有这一权利的人有机会在其他人之前就一项资产订立合同或协议。

例句2

Rights of first refusal are usually requested by individuals or companies who want to see how a business or opportunity will turn out. The rights holder may prefer to get involved at a later point, rather than make the outlay and commitment right away, and a right of first refusal allows them to do so.

优先购买权通常是个人或公司要求的，他们希望看到一项业务或机会会如何发展。权利持有人可能更愿意以后再参与，而不是马上进行投资和承诺，并且优先购买权允许他们这样做。

例句3

Right of first refusal clauses can be customized to create variations of the standard agreement. As such, the parties can incorporate changes, such as specifying how long the right is valid or allowing a third-party nominated by the buyer to make the purchase. Typically, right of first refusal agreements are bound by time. After the period expires, the seller is free to pursue other buyers.

可以定制优先购买权条款，以创建标准协议的变体。因此，双方可以进行修改，例如指定权利的有效期，或者允许买方指定的第三方进行购买。通常，优先购买权协议是有时间限制的。期限过后，卖家可以自由寻求其他买家。

例句4

For the entitled party, a right of first refusal is sort of an insurance policy, assuring that they will not lose rights to an asset that they want or need. For example, a commercial tenant may prefer to lease a location; however, he may buy the premises if it meant that he would be evicted if the property sold to a new owner.

对于有资格的一方来说，优先购买权是一种保险，保证他们不会失去对他们想要或需要的资产的权利。例如，商业租户可能更喜欢租赁一个位置；然而，如果这意味着若房产卖给新主人，他将被驱逐，那么他可以购买房产。

相关知识拓展：

《公司法修订意见稿》对于优先购买权相关条款的修改：

第十三届全国人大常委会第三十二次会议对《中华人民共和国公司法（修订草案）》（“《修订意见稿》”）进行了审议。2021年12月24日，修订草案向社会公开征求意见。针对优先购买权，主要修改如下：

5.1简化对外转让的通知程序。《修订意见稿》删除了股东向股东以外的人转让股权“应当经其他股东过半数同意”的规定，也即减少了“征求其他股东同意阶段"，从实操层面提高了优先购买权的执行效率，减少因为优先购买权实施流程过长以至于损害出让方利益的可能；

5.2明确了股份公司的相关规则。根据《修订意见稿》，股份公司股东可以在公司章程中约定股份转让的限制，我们认为其包括设置股东的优先购买权，以法律的方式进一步确认了股份公司中股东可以根据意思自治约定优先购买权的相关条款和限制。

优先购买权的宗旨在于保护有限责任公司的人合性，而非使得其他股东取得转让股东的股权，因此在立法和司法实践中应注意“维系人合性”和“促进交易效率”两方面原则的平衡，也即转让股东需在同等条件下保证其他股东有充分的时间和完整的流程行使其权利；其他股东也应及时行权，避免假借优先购买权拖延交易，我们也期待修改后的《公司法》以及相关司法解释可以进一步厘清实践中的模糊地带，以保护交易各方的利益，促进经济发展。