Landmark ruling by the BGH on the law of company acquisitions (judgment of September 26, 2018, case no. VIII ZR 187/17, reasons for judgment pending):
The purchase of shares is a legal purchase to which the rules on liability for material defects generally do not apply. An exception only applies if the object of purchase is the entire company or, in the case of the purchase of shares, (almost) all shares. Contrary to a long-standing misconception in legal literature and the courts of lower instances, it is not sufficient if the purchaser holds all or almost all of the shares in a company as a result of the transaction.