Shareholders' Rights & Shareholder Activism

1. Types of Company, Share Classes and Shareholdings

1.1 Types of Company

The main (and most common) types of companies that can be formed in Switzerland are:

• the stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft, AG); and
• the limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH).

However, the stock corporation is much more common than the limited liability company (LLC).

Both company types enjoy limited liability to the effect that only the company's assets are liable for company debts and not the private assets of the respective shareholder(s); therefore, shareholders do not lose their private assets in the event of bankruptcy.

Shares of stock corporations can be publicly listed, whereas quota shares of LLCs cannot be traded publicly.