Share capital (Stammkapital)
Minimum capital of the company. GmbH: EUR 25,000 · UG: from EUR 1 · AG: EUR 50,000.
Share capital is the statutorily fixed base capital. For GmbH at least EUR 25,000 (§ 5 GmbHG), for UG (limited liability) from EUR 1 (with reserve obligation), for AG at least EUR 50,000.
The registered share capital says little about current financial reality — it may have been consumed long ago (over-indebtedness!) or increased through capital rounds. A UG with „EUR 1 share capital” warrants caution: legally permitted, economically usually a startup-structure signal.
For buyers, share-capital history is a research point: multiple increases point to external investor rounds. Capital reductions are rare and legally complex — they show a restructuring past.
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