Legal Entities of the World™
A spotter’s guide to corporate wildlife
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GmbH
/gəˈzɛlʃaft mɪt bəˈʃʁɛŋktɐ ˈhaftʊŋ/ or /ɡeɪ ɛm biː hɑː/ (n.)
The colloquial name for a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, being a limited liability company in Germany and certain Germanic countries, like Austria and parts of Switzerland.

A GmbH is different to the similar “Aktien Gesellschaft” in that shareholders can stick their beaks in uninvited and tell the board of a GmbH what to do. They cannot, unless invited by the board to do so, for an AG.

The equivalent of a GmbH in Francophone countries, we believe (without having fully tested it) is an SARL.

See also