§ 12. Purchase of shares and interest-bearing securities
If you buy a share, you are entitled to all dividends paid out after the time of purchase. If you buy an interest-bearing security, you often have to pay the seller (selger) for interest earned before you took over.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
The purchase of a share includes the dividend that had not fallen due before the purchase. The same applies to the right to subscribe for new shares when the right could not be exercised before the purchase.
The purchase of an interest-bearing claim includes the interest that has accrued but not fallen due at the agreed time of delivery (levering). The equivalent value of such interest shall be paid in addition to the purchase price (kjøpesum) unless the claim has been sold as uncertain.
The parties may agree on a different arrangement.
What does this mean?
This section governs who gets the money (the dividend or the interest) when securities are traded directly between a business and a private individual (privatperson).
If you buy a share, you also get the right to future dividends that have not yet been paid out. If you buy an "interest-bearing claim" (for example a loan someone is paying interest on), the seller is entitled to the interest that has already built up — you pay it as an addition to the price.
Example
Mette buys shares in a local brewery in May. In April, the brewery decided on a dividend to be paid out in June. Since the dividend had not fallen due (was not ready for payment) before Mette bought, it is Mette who gets the money in June.
Common mistakes
- Believing that this section applies when buying shares through Nordnet (there, the brokers' own frameworks apply)
What should you do?
If you buy shares or debt securities outside the stock exchange, always write a detailed share purchase agreement that clearly states who gets this year's dividend.