Capital Increase Agreement Spain (Acuerdo de Ampliación de Capital)

A Capital Increase Agreement Spain (Acuerdo de Ampliación de Capital) is a formal corporate resolution adopted by the Junta General de Socios or Junta General de Accionistas of a Spanish company — a Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.L.) or Sociedad Anónima (S.A.) — authorising and documenting an increase in the company's registered share capital (capital social), governed principally by the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2010, de 2 de julio, LSC) Articles 295 through 310, as well as the Reglamento del Registro Mercantil (Real Decreto 1784/1996) which regulates the registration formalities.

Under Article 1 of the Ley de Sociedades de Capital, the capital social of a Spanish company represents the aggregate of the shareholders' economic contributions and serves as the reference figure for determining creditor protection, distribution of profits, voting rights, and liquidation proceeds. The capital increase resolution is one of the most significant structural modifications a Spanish company can undertake — it alters the constitutional documents (estatutos sociales) filed with the Registro Mercantil and directly affects the economic and political rights of all existing shareholders.

The LSC recognises two principal methods of capital increase. The first is the issuance of new participaciones sociales (in S.L.) or acciones (in S.A.) — new shares of the same or different class are created and offered to investors or existing shareholders. The second is an increase in the nominal value (valor nominal) of existing shares without issuing new ones, requiring the unanimous consent of all shareholders in an S.L. under Article 296 LSC. A third mechanism — capitalisation of reserves (conversión de reservas en capital) under Article 303 LSC — increases capital by converting balance sheet reserves, retained earnings (reservas voluntarias), or the share premium account (prima de asunción or prima de emisión) into registered capital without any cash inflow.

For a Sociedad Limitada, the minimum capital social is €3,000 under Article 4 LSC. For a Sociedad Anónima, the minimum is €60,000 under the same article. After a capital increase, the company must still comply with these minimums, and the net assets (patrimonio neto) must not fall below the new capital figure — a mandatory solvency check under Articles 320–323 LSC governs capital reductions, but the same logic applies in reverse to verify that an increase is not immediately undermined by distributable losses.

The process for a valid Capital Increase Agreement in Spain requires several sequential steps. First, the Consejo de Administración or administrator (administrador único) prepares a capital increase proposal, including the amount, form, issue price, and timeline for subscription. Second, the Junta General adopts the resolution with the quorum and majority required under Articles 199 and 201 LSC for an S.L. — qualified majority of two-thirds of votes for statutory modifications — or Articles 193 and 194 LSC for an S.A. Third, the resolution must be elevated to public deed (escritura pública) before a Notario español under Article 314 LSC. Fourth, the escritura pública must be presented to the Registro Mercantil within one month of execution for registration, after which the capital increase becomes effective against third parties.

Existing shareholders of an S.L. and S.A. hold pre-emptive subscription rights (derecho de suscripción preferente or derecho de asunción preferente) under Articles 304–306 LSC, allowing them to subscribe new shares proportionally before third-party investors. These rights may be excluded by the Junta General under Article 308 LSC where special circumstances justify it, typically in connection with a strategic investor or private equity transaction, subject to a report by the administrators justifying the exclusion at the fair value (valor razonable).

Capital increases backed by in-kind contributions (aportaciones no dinerarias) require a valuation report (informe de valoración) by an independent expert appointed by the Registro Mercantil under Article 67 LSC for S.A., whereas for S.L. the administrators and subscribers bear joint and several liability for the value attributed to the contribution under Article 73 LSC. Capital increases must also comply with applicable securities regulation if shares are offered to more than 150 persons or publicly advertised — the Ley del Mercado de Valores (Ley 6/2023) and Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) oversight may be triggered.

A Capital Increase Agreement Spain is needed whenever a Spanish Sociedad Limitada or Sociedad Anónima resolves to raise its registered capital — whether to fund growth, attract new investors, comply with legal requirements, or restructure the balance sheet.

A capital increase is required when a startup or SME in Spain seeks external equity financing — a business angel, venture capital fund (fondo de capital riesgo regulated under Ley 22/2014), or private equity investor subscribes new participaciones sociales or acciones as consideration for their investment. The Capital Increase Agreement formalises the terms agreed in the term sheet (carta de intenciones) and shareholders' agreement (pacto de socios).

A capital increase resolution is needed when a Spanish company must rebuild its net assets (patrimonio neto) following accumulated losses — Article 363.1(e) LSC requires the Junta General to resolve dissolution when the net assets fall below half the registered capital, unless the capital is reduced or increased sufficiently to remedy the imbalance. Failing to act can result in administrator liability under Article 367 LSC.

The agreement is required when partners in a Sociedad Limitada agree to capitalise shareholder loans (préstamos de socios) — converting outstanding debt owed to shareholders into registered capital (capitalización de deuda), a common restructuring mechanism used in Spanish empresas familiares and accepted by the Dirección General de Tributos as a non-taxable contribution under Article 19 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados (ITPAJD).

A Capital Increase Agreement is needed when a Spanish company acquires another business by issuing its own shares as consideration (canje de valores) — the acquiree's shareholders receive newly issued shares of the acquirer instead of cash, governed by the merger and acquisition provisions of the LSC and the merger directive.

The agreement is necessary when an employee stock option plan (plan de opciones sobre acciones) vests and employees exercise their options — the company issues new shares to the beneficiaries, increasing capital by the aggregate exercise price subscribed.

A capital increase resolution is also required when an S.A. issues convertible bonds (obligaciones convertibles) and bondholders exercise their conversion rights — the LSC requires a pre-existing capital increase resolution authorising the conversion shares, adopted by the Junta General with the required qualified majority.

Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255.

A valid Capital Increase Agreement Spain under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (RDL 1/2010) must contain the following essential elements to be registrable with the Registro Mercantil and enforceable against shareholders and third parties.

Company Identification: Full registered name (denominación social), legal form (S.L. or S.A.), registered address (domicilio social), NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal) issued by the Agencia Tributaria, and Registro Mercantil registration data — volume (tomo), section, sheet (hoja), and entry (inscripción) number of the company's registration in the relevant provincial Registro Mercantil.

Current Capital and Post-Increase Capital: The company's current registered capital (capital social actual) as registered — stating the number, class, and nominal value of existing shares — and the new total capital social after the increase, the amount of the increase, and the method of increase (new share issuance, nominal value increase, or reserve capitalisation).

Junta Resolution Details: The date, place, and type (ordinary or extraordinary — Junta Ordinaria or Junta Extraordinaria) of the Junta General that adopted the capital increase resolution; the quorum present (percentage of capital represented); and the voting result — number of votes in favour, against, and abstaining — demonstrating compliance with the majority requirements of Articles 199–201 LSC (S.L.) or Articles 193–201 LSC (S.A.).

New Share Terms: For new share issuances — the number of new participaciones sociales or acciones to be created, their nominal value (valor nominal), any share premium (prima de asunción or prima de emisión) above the nominal value, the total subscription price per share, and the aggregate amount to be paid up. The issue price must equal at least the nominal value — below-nominal issuances are prohibited under Article 59 LSC.

Subscription Period and Payment Terms: The period during which existing shareholders may exercise their pre-emptive rights (derecho de suscripción preferente) — typically 15 days for S.L. under Article 304.2 LSC or 1 month for S.A. under Article 305 LSC — and the method and deadline for payment of the subscription price. For monetary contributions (aportaciones dinerarias), at least 25% of the nominal value of each new share must be paid up upon subscription for S.A. under Article 79 LSC; for S.L., full payment is required upon subscription under Article 78 LSC.

Exclusion of Pre-Emptive Rights (if applicable): If the Junta resolves to exclude the derecho de suscripción preferente under Article 308 LSC, the agreement must include the administrators' report justifying the exclusion, the proposed subscriber's identity, and confirmation that the issue price equals the fair value (valor razonable) of the shares as determined under Article 308.2 LSC.

In-Kind Contributions (if applicable): A description of any non-cash assets contributed (aportaciones no dinerarias), the independent expert valuation report for S.A., and the administrators' liability declaration for S.L., as required by Articles 67–74 LSC.

Notarial Deed and Registration Commitment: A statement that the resolution will be elevated to a public escritura pública before a Notario español and presented to the Registro Mercantil within the statutory one-month period under Article 314 LSC. Registration fees (aranceles notariales and registrales) and the Impuesto sobre Operaciones Societarias under the ITPAJD are borne by the company.

Forms-legal.com provides this Capital Increase Agreement Spain template as a practical drafting reference. Capital increase resolutions have direct tax and legal consequences — companies should work with a qualified abogado mercantilista or asesor fiscal before proceeding.

Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255.