Gläubigerversammlung (creditors' assembly)

The creditors' assembly (§§ 74 et seq. InsO) comprises all creditors entitled to participate, convened and chaired by the insolvency court. Both secured creditors (with rights of separate satisfaction) and ordinary insolvency creditors are entitled to vote, weighted by the amount of their claim. Resolutions generally pass by a majority of claim value (§ 76(2) InsO); certain matters additionally require a majority by head count.

Core powers: at the report hearing, the assembly decides the company's fate — continuation, business transfer restructuring, or wind-down (§ 157 InsO). It elects and can appoint or remove members of the creditors' committee, can vote in a different administrator in place of the one appointed by the court (§ 57 InsO), and — for an insolvency plan — votes on its adoption in rank-based groups (§ 244 InsO).

For buyers, the report hearing often marks the moment the administrator's sale strategy — a sale during the ongoing case, a business transfer restructuring, or an insolvency plan — is formally endorsed by creditors, which shapes deal timing and possible structure. Where a sale to a particular bidder is contested between creditor groups (e.g. secured banks versus unsecured suppliers), the assembly's vote can determine whether an already negotiated deal holds or has to be renegotiated.