Practical legal guide
How to buy a company in the Czech Republic: share deal or asset deal?
You want to buy a Czech company or its business. Czech law offers two main routes: buy the ownership interest in the company (a share deal), and the company keeps everything it owns and owes, or buy the business itself (an asset deal, called the sale of a business enterprise), and the company stays with the seller.
Describe your caseUpdated and verified:
Short answer
- Share deal: buy the ownership interest
- Asset deal: buy the business enterprise
- Due diligence before signing
- Price paid through escrow
In a share deal you buy the company with all its debts; in an asset deal only the business and the debts you knew of. Check approvals and register the change.
Describe your caseQuick answers
- Can a foreigner buy a Czech company?
- Yes. Foreign individuals and companies can buy Czech companies. Large deals may need merger clearance, and investors from outside the EU buying into sensitive sectors may need approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- What is the difference between a share deal and an asset deal in Czech law?
- In a share deal you buy the company, which keeps all its assets and debts. In an asset deal you buy the business enterprise; the company stays with the seller and you take over only debts you knew of or should reasonably have expected.
- Does the share transfer have to be notarised?
- The agreement must be in writing with officially certified signatures; a notary or a Czech lawyer can certify them. A notarial deed is needed for some general-meeting decisions, such as amending the memorandum of association.
When this situation arises
- A foreign company wants to enter the Czech market by acquiring a local s.r.o.
- An investor buys a majority stake and the founder stays on as a minority member
- A foreign group buys one division or plant of a Czech company
- A buyer wants to know which signatures, consents and registrations are needed
- A non-EU investor is unsure whether the deal needs Czech government approval
What options do you have
Share deal (transfer of the ownership interest)
You become a member (shareholder) of the s.r.o. The company keeps its assets, contracts, licences, employees and debts. Simpler to execute, but you inherit the company's past, so due diligence and seller warranties matter.
Asset deal (sale of a business enterprise)
The seller's company sells its business as a whole: assets, contracts, receivables and debts. You take over only the debts you knew of or should reasonably have expected. The company and the sale price stay with the seller. A self-contained part of the business can be sold the same way.
Buying individual assets
If you buy only machinery, stock or a property, it is not a business transfer: debts and employees do not move with them automatically.
Recommended step-by-step process
- 1.
Choose the structure
Share deal or asset deal, depending on risks, contracts that cannot be transferred and tax. Get tax advice in the Czech Republic and at home before signing.
- 2.
NDA and term sheet
Agree confidentiality and the key commercial terms in writing.
- 3.
Due diligence
Commercial and insolvency registers, accounts, contracts, employees, real estate, disputes and permits.
- 4.
Approvals
Check whether the deal needs clearance by the Czech competition authority (ÚOHS) or screening by the Ministry of Industry and Trade before closing.
- 5.
Sign
A share transfer agreement with certified signatures (a Czech lawyer can certify them), plus any consent of the general meeting or another body that the law or the memorandum requires.
- 6.
Closing and registrations
Deliver the agreement to the company, file the change with the Commercial Register and the beneficial owners register, and release the price from escrow.
What documents to prepare
- Commercial Register extract and the memorandum of association
- Financial statements from the Collection of Documents
- Key contracts with customers, suppliers, banks and landlords
- List of employees and employment contracts
- Land Register extracts for any real estate
- Corporate documents of the buying company, usually apostilled and translated
Common mistakes
- Signing a share transfer without officially certified signatures
- Missing a transfer restriction or consent requirement in the memorandum
- Closing before merger clearance or investment approval where one is required
- Paying the full price without escrow or another safeguard
- Forgetting to record the new beneficial owner
Risks and important deadlines
Six months for consent
If a required consent to a share transfer is not given within six months of signing, the agreement falls away as if rescinded, unless it says otherwise.
Creditors in an asset deal
A creditor of the seller who did not agree and whose claim is weakened can ask a court to declare the sale ineffective against them, within one month of learning of it and at the latest within three years.
Unregistered beneficial owner
An owner missing from the Czech register cannot vote in the company and the company may not pay them a profit share.
Estimated costs
Lawyers' fees for structuring, due diligence and documents are agreed in advance, usually hourly or as a fixed fee. Add fees for signature certification, notarial deeds where the law requires them, Commercial Register filings, translations and apostilles, and tax advisers.
When it's worth contacting a lawyer
Talk to a Czech corporate lawyer before you sign a term sheet: they help you choose between a share deal and an asset deal, run due diligence, check merger and investment-screening rules, draft the agreement with warranties and handle consents, filings and escrow. On LawBridge you can find Czech business and real-estate lawyers by area of law and send them a request. A foreign investor's deal is a cross-border matter, and cross-border matters have no free option: lawyers always charge for their work, and nobody can guarantee the outcome of a deal.
Describe your caseLawyers for this area on LawBridge
JUDr. Ivana Žilinčíková
Praha · Czechia
Mgr. Vendula Macháčková, advokát
Vyškov · Czechia
Mgr. LUKÁŠ KYKAL
Praha - Říčany · Czechia
Profile order changes from page to page and never depends on plan or payment. Lawyers' services are always paid; LawBridge is a search engine and guarantees neither acceptance of a case nor its outcome.
All lawyers for this area →Frequently asked questions
When does the buyer become the owner?
Towards the company, the transfer takes effect when the effective agreement is delivered to it. The Commercial Register entry follows and is not a condition of the transfer.
Do employees move to the buyer?
In a share deal the employer stays the same company. In an asset deal employment moves to the buyer in full, and both employers must inform staff at least 30 days in advance.
Which route is better for tax?
It depends on the seller, the buyer and what the company owns. These pages give no tax advice; have both routes assessed by tax advisers before signing.
Can I sign from abroad?
Yes. A Czech lawyer can act for you under a power of attorney, or you sign abroad and have the signature certified. Your lawyer tells you which certification and translation the Czech authorities will accept.
Verified sources
- Zákon č. 90/2012 Sb., o obchodních korporacích, znění od 19. 7. 2024 (§ 146 obsah společenské smlouvy, § 172 veřejná listina, § 190 odst. 2 písm. i) schválení převodu závodu valnou hromadou, § 207–209 převod podílu: souhlas, písemná forma s úředně ověřenými podpisy, účinnost vůči společnosti doručením smlouvy, ručení převodce) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 89/2012 Sb., občanský zákoník, znění od 1. 1. 2026 (§ 1105 nabytí nemovitosti zápisem do katastru; § 2175–2183 koupě závodu: dluhy, ručení prodávajícího, oznámení věřitelům, nabytí zveřejněním ve sbírce listin, neúčinnost vůči věřiteli do 1 měsíce / 3 let, část závodu) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 262/2006 Sb., zákoník práce, znění od 1. 11. 2026 (§ 338 přechod práv a povinností při převodu činnosti zaměstnavatele, § 339 informační povinnost nejpozději 30 dnů předem) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 37/2021 Sb., o evidenci skutečných majitelů, znění od 1. 1. 2025 (§ 4 podíl větší než 25 %, § 9 zápis bez zbytečného odkladu, § 53 zákaz výplaty podílu na zisku, § 54 zákaz výkonu hlasovacích práv při nezapsání) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 143/2001 Sb., o ochraně hospodářské soutěže, znění od 3. 4. 2025 (§ 12 spojení soutěžitelů a kontrola, § 13 obratové limity 1,5 mld. Kč / 250 mil. Kč a 1,5 mld. Kč / 1,5 mld. Kč celosvětově, § 16 lhůty 30 dnů a 5 měsíců, § 16a zjednodušené řízení 20 dnů, § 18 zákaz uskutečnění před povolením, § 22a pokuta do 10 mil. Kč nebo 10 % obratu) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 34/2021 Sb., o prověřování zahraničních investic, znění od 1. 11. 2025 (§ 2 zahraniční investor mimo EU, § 5 účinná kontrola od 10 % hlasovacích práv, § 7 investice vyžadující povolení, § 8 prověření z moci úřední do 5 let, § 10 konzultace a lhůta 45 dnů, povinná konzultace u celoplošného vysílání a velkého tisku; § 25 pokuta až 1 % obratu za investici bez žádosti nebo konzultace, až 2 % za porušení rozhodnutí) — Zákony pro lidi
- Zákon č. 85/1996 Sb., o advokacii, znění od 1. 1. 2026 (§ 25a prohlášení advokáta o pravosti podpisu se stejnými účinky jako úřední ověření, § 52g advokátní úschova jen na písemnou smlouvu a zvláštní účet „advokátní úschova“, § 52k elektronická kniha úschov) — Zákony pro lidi
- Ministerstvo spravedlnosti: Veřejný rejstřík a Sbírka listin — Ministerstvo spravedlnosti ČR