In 1995, the partners decided to enable external shareholders to invest in the company, which led to the public listing of Merck KGaA. Today, shareholders now hold 30% of the total capital while the Merck family holds 70% via the general partner E. Merck KG. E. Merck KG is the Group parent company of all Merck companies yet it does not have any operating businesses itself. It makes the policy decisions for the Merck Group. The vast majority of the capital is held by members of the Merck family.