I am thinking of either buying an existing AG or setting up a new one.


Is anyone willing to share their insights and experiences please?


Thanks very much.

Welcome to the forum. Not sure if this thread will be of any use:

Help for Businesses/Freelancers in CH

Usual advice is to set up a new one.
When you buy an existing AG it is very hard to discover or protect yourself against old financial claims

Thank you for the response, much appreciated.

Is there anybody with an experience of actually buying an AG, in other words going through the process?

Where does one find advertisements for businesses selling?

Dear,

I have some experience as I created myself last year 2 companies.
An AG and a GMBH. For an AG you need to deposit 100.000. For a GMBH 20.000. The difference between the companyb types is minimal.

It really depends what you want it for .

I have had great help from the Startzentrum: http://www.startzentrum.ch/

They are in several cities in CH. I visited them in Zurich. They help young entrepreneurs. Information, networking, access to contacts, office space for starters etc. etc.

From them I got a booklet: GRUNDEN 2.0, with everything you need to know about creating a company. Also including a comparison between GMBH, AG and other company types. And a checklist what to do before and after.

The booklet I have is in German though. Not sure if it exists in English.

Creating the company is easy but as always in CH you must follow the rules and make sure you have all documents when going to the notary. Costs between 4.000 and 6.000 CHF

Happy to help guide you. Just let me know what you want to know.

if it is just a shelf company, then it doesn't really make a difference.

Never purchased an existing company, but having set up a couple from scratch, I see no advantage these days in having an AG over a GmbH apart from the apparent better image that an AG has over the "used car dealer" GmbH type. It's actually easier to manage the financials of a GmbH with regards to having less mandatory internal auditing processes.

The transition from GmbH to AG is a little tricky and I've personally backed off doing that as you basically need to wind up the GmbH and start the AG again from scratch.

Don't forget that the CHF 100K and 20K that you need to deposit in an account to establish an AG and GmbH respectively is available once the company has been set up by the Handelsregister (Cantonal company registration administration). Also check your suitability to be a company director if you're not Swiss, you may need an attorney to act on your behalf otherwise, choose wisely!

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I would add the question of ownership and visibility.

With a GmbH all of the "owners" are listed and public. This is not normally an issue if it is just you or a couple of friends.

If you or any potential investors want to stay in the background, you will need an AG to do so. An AG also facilitates transfers of shares etc.

Thanks very much everybody. I need some time to work out the information received. Also, I made an appointment with a lawyer.
I might take you up on that offer Ben. Let's see how it goes.

[QUOTE=Ben.B;1384752]Dear,

From them I got a booklet: GRUNDEN 2.0, with everything you need to know about creating a company. Also including a comparison between GMBH, AG and other company types. And a checklist what to do before and after.

The booklet I have is in German though. Not sure if it exists in English.

QUOTE]


Here is a link to the guide in English http://www.gruenden.ch/index.php?L=1

Good luck

Advantages of buying an existing company off-the-shelf:
1. Available immediately if you need it urgently.
2. Old companies regarded as more trust and credit worthy.
3. Carried forward losses can offset future profits.

Disadvantages:
1. Costs more. Seller wants to be rewarded for off-the-shelf.
2. Risks from prior dubious history.

I would like to thank the people who contributed to this post. It was very helpful in formulating my own thoughts.

I just had an informative meeting with a lawyer and it looks like I will be setting up an AG in Zug. As I understand it, the company needs a local address in Zug.
A Trust Office charges quite a bit of money to be the "local resident".

Question: May I ask some input on how people have solved this in order to minimize costs?

Registered shares AG at least CHF 50’000 paid in upon foundation, even for One person AG, only bearer shares AG must be fully paid, but it’s considered as foreigner controlled company.


Trader J try to google Zug business address, I think the lowest will be around thousand euro a year.