The term Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, abbreviated Ges. mbH or GmbH, stands for a limited liability company. This is the most common type of company in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; the owners of the company are not personally liable for the company's debts.
There are various forms of this type of company (e.g. GmbH & Co.), but the most common is the GmbH & Co. KG, which is a limited partnership whose sole general partner is a limited liability company, combining the advantages of a partnership with the limited liability of a company limited by shares.
Although the abbreviation is quite similar, a GmbH should not be confused with the business form eGmbH which has a completely different background.
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