business corporate-law
What laws prevent a company from owning itself?
<p><a href="https://www.quora.com/Can-a-corporation-own-itself-like-when-a-corp-buys-its-own-shares-Will-that-make-it-similar-to-a-free-person" rel="nofollow noreferrer">There are a few places around</a> with people asking if "a company can own itself".  However, I have not found any citations of actual law that prevents such an arrangement.</p>

<p>Which specific laws or combinations of laws prevent companies from owning themselves?</p>

<p>Some academics would describe any "non-profit" corporation that doesn't have transferrable shares as a company that owns itself.</p>

<p>For example, the Red Cross or the United Way or Harvard University, are effectively companies that own themselves. </p>

<p>In contrast, it would not apply to non-profits with transferrable interests such as country clubs or the New York Stock Exchange or an agricultural co-op which have members despite not being "for profit" entities themselves.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/australia" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;australia&#39;" rel="tag">australia</a>, <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/s259a.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s259a</a> of the Corporations Law.</p>

<p>A company without shareholders can be would up under various provisions, for example, <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/s1.5.6.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s1.5.6</a> for proprietary companies limited by shares.</p>
