Coordinatively unsaturated germylene-bridged diruthenium(0) complexes can be prepared by treating [Ru3(CO)12] with amidinate germylenes of the type Ge(R1bzamR2)(HMDS) [R1bzamR2 = 1-R1-3-R2-benzamidinate, HMDS = N(SiMe3)2], but only when the amidinate contains just one very bulky R group (tBu) (not two).