Aktieselskab

Aktieselskab (abbr.: ⅍ or a/s, Unicode U+214d ⅍) is the Danish name for a stock-based corporation. An aktieselskab can be both publicly traded and private.

Liability

The shareholders of an aktieselskab are not liable for the debt of the company. This can be used to protect the assets of the company against creditors by making a group of companies. If an ⅍ is owned by a holding company (typically another ⅍), the profit from the production company can be transferred to the holding company. Since there is no liability for the owners of an ⅍, creditors from the production company will not be able to claim the profit in case of bankruptcy. Professional creditors like banks protect themselves from this by demanding that the holding company guarantees for the debts of the production company.

Formation of an ⅍

The formation of an aktieselskab follows five steps: