Subscription (of Shares/Business Interests)

The subscription of shares or business interests refers to the binding acquisition of new participations in a joint-stock company (AG) or a limited liability company (GmbH) during a company formation, capital increase, or new issue. By subscribing to shares, the investor – also known as the subscriber – commits to taking over a specified number of shares or a certain business interest and pays the nominal value or issue price. In practice, the subscription is carried out by signing a subscription form or a declaration of accession, thereby creating a legally effective subscription contract. While the commercial register typically only records the total number of issued shares and any founding shareholders during the formation of an AG, in a GmbH, the shareholders along with the amount of their capital contributions must be registered by name. Thus, the subscription is primarily an internal act but forms the basis for subsequent registration, voting rights, and profit distribution. Relevant keywords: share subscription, subscribe to business interests, subscription form, acquisition of shares, participation, capital increase, founding shareholder, capital contribution, commercial register.

Subscription is represented in the commercial register through capital-specific entries: For GmbH, the handelsregister.ai API provides all shareholders with the amount of their capital contribution, and for AG, the information on the subscribed capital along with founding shareholders. These data indicate the structure of capital owners, the extent of liability, and changes in capital increases or new issues.