SF - You are "absolutely correct" in saying that 50.1% ownership is a controlling interest however with regard to a public company and the "disinterested factor" generally a 37% to 42% position will give someone who owns that amount of shares control of the vote. For example if only 80% of the shares were represented in person or by proxi at an AGM then someone with 40.1% ownership would control the vote. I have been to more than a hundred public company AGMs in the past and have seen maybe 2 that had more than 80% of the shares represented. It could definitely happen but it is very rare.

tada