Final answer:
Investors 1 and 2 of The Darkroom Windowshade Company would need to collaborate with other shareholders to successfully change management, as their combined shares do not constitute a majority. It will require at least one additional investor, either investor 3 alone or investor 4 plus one more shareholder, to achieve over 50% voting power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Corporate Shares and Voting Power
The question pertains to the number of investors required to change a company's top management, given a specific distribution of shares among investors. To change company management, more than 50% of the voting shares are needed.
In the case of The Darkroom Windowshade Company, there are 100,000 shares outstanding. Investor 1 has 20,000 shares, and Investor 2 has 18,000 shares. Combined, they hold 38,000 shares, constituting 38% of the total shares. Investors 3 to 11 collectively hold 62,000 shares (or 62%).
Therefore, the minimum number of investors required to change the top management would include investors 1 and 2, plus either Investor 3 or a combination of Investor 4 and any one of the investors from 6 to 11.
Despite holding a significant portion of shares, investors 1 and 2, when voting together (voting power), cannot be certain of always getting their way because their combined shares make up less than the required majority. They would need to form a coalition with other shareholders to ensure a majority vote. This highlights the importance of understanding shareholder power in corporate governance.