Ask a Lawyer

A 50/50 company with no tie-break mechanism is genuinely deadlocked — neither of you can outvote the other, and UAE company law does not supply an automatic referee. That leaves a fairly standard menu of options. The cleanest is a negotiated exit: one partner buys the other out at an agreed valuation, often tested by inviting each side to name a price. Mediation with a neutral third party resolves more of these disputes than court does, particularly where the business itself is still healthy. If you both want to continue, you can amend the company's memorandum to add deadlock provisions for the future — a casting vote, a third board member, or a buy-sell mechanism. Selling the whole company to an outsider is another route. The last resort is asking the court to dissolve the company on the ground that it can no longer function; courts treat this as a final remedy, and it usually destroys value for both partners. Meanwhile, do not let the deadlock lapse the trade licence or block salaries — operational paralysis creates liabilities for both of you regardless of who is right. A corporate lawyer can review your memorandum and set out which exit route is realistic.

You are entitled to considerably more than you are receiving. As a shareholder in a UAE company, the law gives you the right to be notified of and attend general assembly meetings — and an annual general assembly is a legal requirement, not a courtesy — to vote your shares, to review the company's financial statements ahead of those meetings, and to receive dividends when they are declared. You can challenge resolutions passed in breach of the law or the company's memorandum, and managers who cause the company loss through their conduct can face claims. The memorandum of association may give minority holders additional protections, so read it before anything else. The practical path matters as much as the rights: start with a written request for the accounts and for a general assembly to be convened, sent in a form you can later prove. A paper trail of exclusion — unanswered requests, meetings never called, accounts never shared — is exactly what gives a court something to act on if you escalate. Family company disputes often settle once a formal request lands. A corporate lawyer can review the memorandum and tell you which levers your shareholding actually gives you.