With the Federal Act on the Reorganization of the Federal Theatres (Bundestheaterorganisationsgesetz, BThOG) passed by the Austrian National Council in July 1998, the theatres formerly combined in the Austrian Federal Theatres Association became legally independent within the framework of a group structure under the umbrella of a holding company.
Bundestheater-Holding GmbH is owned by the Republic of Austria and is the sole owner of three subsidiaries - Burgtheater GmbH, Wiener Staatsoper GmbH and Volksoper Wien GmbH - and the majority owner (51.1%) of ART for ART Theaterservice GmbH. 48.9% of the shares in ART for ART Theaterservice GmbH are held in equal shares (16.3% each) by the three stage companies Burgtheater GmbH, Wiener Staatsoper GmbH and Volksoper Wien GmbH. For its part, ART for ART Theaterservice GmbH is the owner of ART for ART Kreativ-Werkstätten GmbH. The Vienna State Ballet, with an artistic and a commercial management, is a consortium (ARGE) subordinate to the two music theaters, with which the ballet companies of Wiener Staatsoper GmbH and Volksoper Wien GmbH were merged in 2005.