minority interest

minority interest The interest of individual shareholders in a company more than 50% of which is owned by a holding company. For example, if 60% of the ordinary shares in a company are owned by a holding company, the remaining 40% will represent a minority interest. These minority shareholders will receive their full share of profits in the form of dividends although they will be unable to determine company policy as they will always be outvoted by the majority interest held by the holding company. See controlling interest; participating interest.