Final answer:
The preferred shareholders would receive $288,000 in total, and the common shareholders would receive $312,000 in total.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how much each class of shareholders would receive in total, we need to consider the preferred shares and common shares separately.
For the preferred shares, we know that there are 6,000 shares outstanding and that there are two years of preferred dividends in arrears. Since the preferred shares are cumulative, the arrears must be paid before any dividends can be paid to the common shareholders. So, it means that the preferred shareholders are entitled to receive dividends for the current year and the two years in arrears. The dividend is $600,000, and each preferred share has a par value of $200.
To calculate the dividend per preferred share, we need to multiply the par value by the dividend rate and sum it up for the three years in total. The calculation would be: ($200 * 6%) * 3 = $36 per preferred share for the three years.
Since there are 8,000 preferred shares issued, the total dividend amount for the preferred shareholders would be $36 * 8,000 = $288,000.
For the common shares, we need to calculate the dividend per share based on the remaining amount after paying the preferred shareholders. The remaining dividend amount would be $600,000 - $288,000 = $312,000.
The dividend per common share can be calculated by dividing the remaining dividend amount by the number of common shares outstanding: $312,000 / 4,000 = $78 per common share.
Therefore, each class of shareholders would receive the following in total: Preferred shareholders: $288,000, Common shareholders: $312,000.