§ 83 — Transfer of franchises, property or stocks

§ 83. Transfer of franchises, property or stocks. 1. No steam\ncorporation shall transfer or lease its franchise, works or system or\nany part of such franchise, works or system to any other person or\ncorporation or contract for the operation of its works and system,\nwithout the written consent of the commission.\n 2. The permission and approval of the commission to the exercise of a\nfranchise under section eighty-one of this article, or to the\nassignment, transfer or lease of a franchise under this section shall\nnot be construed to revive or validate any lapsed or invalid franchise\nor to enlarge or add to the powers and privileges contained in the grant\nof any franchise or to waive any forfeiture.\n 3. No steam corporation shall directly or indirectly acquire the stock\nor bonds of any other corporation incorporated for, or engaged in, the\nsame or a similar business, or proposing to operate or operating under a\nfranchise from the same or any other municipality, unless authorized so\nto do by the commission.\n 4. Save where stock shall be transferred or held for the purpose of\ncollateral security only with the consent of the commission, no stock\ncorporation of any description, domestic or foreign, company, including,\nbut not limited to, a limited liability company, association, including\na joint stock association, partnership, including a limited liability\npartnership, or person, other than a steam corporation, a street\nrailroad corporation, a gas corporation, an electric corporation, or a\ngas and electric corporation, shall purchase or acquire, take or hold,\nmore than ten per centum of the voting capital stock issued by any steam\ncorporation organized or existing under or by virtue of the laws of this\nstate, except that a corporation now lawfully holding a majority of the\nvoting capital stock of any steam corporation may with the consent of\nthe commission acquire and hold the remainder of the voting capital\nstock of such steam corporation or any portion thereof.\n 5. No consent shall be given by the commission to the acquisition of\nany stock in accordance with this section unless it shall have been\nshown that such acquisition is in the public interest. Nothing herein\ncontained shall be construed to prevent the holding of any stock\nheretofore lawfully acquired, nor to prevent, upon the surrender or\nexchange of such stock pursuant to a reorganization plan, the purchase,\nacquisition, taking or holding of a proportionate amount of stock of any\nnew corporation organized to take over, at foreclosure or other sale,\nthe property of any corporation whose stock has been thus surrendered or\nexchanged; but the proportion of the voting capital stock of the new\ncorporation held by a stock corporation, company, association,\npartnership or person and acquired by it by any such surrender or\nexchange of stock shall not without the consent of the commission exceed\nthe proportion of the voting capital stock held by it in the former\ncorporation.\n 6. Every contract, assignment, transfer or agreement for transfer of\nany stock by or through any person or corporation to any corporation,\ncompany, association, partnership or person, in violation of any\nprovision of this chapter, shall be void and of no effect, and no such\ntransfer or assignment shall be made upon the books of any such\nsteamheating corporation, or shall be recognized as effective for any\npurpose.\n