!!!Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Ges. m. b. H., GmbH

b. H., GmbH, a private limited company that is a legal entity, which 
means that it has corporate personality and a legal existence, 
separate from that of its individual shareholders limited by the 
amount of share capital (at least 500,000 ATS) which is contributed by 
each member and divided into shares. If the company fails, liability 
of the individual shareholders is limited to the amount of share 
capital they hold. The GmbH company is governed by the GmbH Act, which 
was passed in 1906 and, in contrast to the Stock Company Act, allows 
greater flexibility and confers merchant status whatever the object of 
business. The registration of the GmbH in the  Company Register 
constitutes its legal existence. The general shareholders´ 
meeting appoints one or more managing directors. By law, a supervisory 
board (Aufsichtsrat) is only required in some cases, e.g. for bigger 
GmbH companies. The GmbH is not eligible for quotation on the stock 
exchange. A notarial act is necessary to transfer shares.

\\
Currently the GmbH is the most popular legal form of doing business in 
Austria. In many cases the GmbH only serves as general partner in a 
limited partnership ("GmbH & Co KG"). In Austria about 29% of GmbHs 
are owned by one shareholder, mainly Austrian or international 
companies (as legal entities), 64% are owned by 2-4 shareholders, 6% 
are owned by 5-10 shareholders and the rest by more than 10.

!Literature
J. Reich-Rohrwig, Verbreitung und Gesellschafterstruktur 
der GmbH in Oesterreich, in: Festschrift fuer W. Kastner, 1992; idem, 
Das oesterreichische GmbH-Recht, 1983; H. G. Koppensteiner, GmbHG 
Kommentar, 1994.


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