Final answer:
Shareholders in a public company like The Darkroom Windowshade Company have the right to vote for changes in top management. Investors 1 and 2, holding a combined 38,000 shares, cannot change top management without additional support, as a majority of over 50% is required.
Step-by-step explanation:
The voting rights of shareholders in a public company are significant as they enable the shareholders to vote for the board of directors, which hires the top executives to manage the company. In the given scenario of The Darkroom Windowshade Company, the total shares outstanding are 100,000. To change top management, a majority vote is required, which is more than 50% of the total shares, meaning at least 50,001 shares need to be voted in favor of the change.
Investors 1 and 2 together hold 38,000 shares (20,000 + 18,000). Although this is a significant number of shares, it does not constitute a majority. They would need support from at least investor 3, who has 15,000 shares, to cross the majority threshold. With investors 1, 2, and 3 voting together, they would control 53,000 shares, which is a sufficient number to change the company's top management. Therefore, the minimum number of investors needed would be three to achieve this goal.
If investors 1 and 2 agree to vote together, they cannot be certain of always getting their way in how the company is run because they do not control a majority of shares alone. They would need the agreement of at least one more investor with a significant number of shares (such as investor 3) to have a voting majority.