Final answer:
Investor 1 and Investor 2, holding a total of 38,000 shares, cannot alone change the company's top management as they represent only 38% ownership. To achieve a majority, they must rally additional investors to cumulatively exceed 50% of the total shares. The minimum number of investors needed would include Investor 1 and all six smaller shareholders (Investors 6-11), reaching exactly 50,000 shares.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the minimum number of investors required to vote to change the top management of the Darkroom Windowshade Company, one needs to understand what a share of stock represents, which is an ownership unit in a company. Typically, a majority of at least one share over 50% is necessary to control corporate decisions.
Investor 1 and Investor 2 have 20,000 shares and 18,000 shares respectively, adding up to 38,000 shares. Together, they hold 38% of the company. To change the management, the combined votes would need to exceed 50,000 (50% of 100,000 total shares). Hence, with only Investors 1 and 2 voting together, they would not always get their way. They would need additional investors to reach a majority.
The minimum number of investors needed to change top management would be those who cumulatively hold over 50,000 shares. Assuming that all smaller shareholders align together and every share is voted, the minimum number of investors would be Investor 1 plus Investors 6 through 11, as they collectively hold 20,000 + 6(5,000) = 50,000 shares, just reaching a majority.