The term Compagnie, abbreviated Comp., Cie. or Co. and in some cases spelled Kompanie, indicates that the company is an association or group of individuals, legal entities or a mixture of both, in which the members pool their collective skills or resources to achieve stated goals. The abbreviation "Co." is the most common form of this suffix today, although the older (traditional) form "Cie." is still found in rare cases; all other forms are extremely rare in Germany today.
Under German law, it is often not sufficient to simply state that a company is being formed if the company in question is based on various forms of liability or membership structures which are already covered by another legal form. It is therefore often used in combinations such as "Co. KG" or "GmbH & Co. KG".
© 2004-2026 C.S.Marshall, all rights reserved