| a company whose shareholders may not exceed 50 in number and whose shares may not be offered for public subscription. |
Private Company
A company whose ownership is private and, thus, do not need to meet the strict SEC filing requirements of public companies.
Investopedia Commentary
Private companies may issue stock and have shareholders. However, their shares do not trade on public exchanges and are not issued through an IPO. In general, the shares of these businesses are less liquid and the values difficult to determine.
Related Links
See also: Exchange, IPO, Public, Public Company, SEC, Shareholder
