Private company - Definition and Overview

A private company is a company that is not a public company.

Private vs public companies

Private companies (in the sense that their shares are not publicly traded) generally have the advantage over public companies of lower compliance costs. For example, Part 2E of the Australian Corporations Act 2001 requires that public companies lodge certain documents relating to their Annual General Meeting with ASIC. However, they also generally have more restrictions on how many shareholders they may have. For example, section 113 of the Australian Corporations Act 2001 limits a private company to 50 non-employee shareholders.

External links

• Forbes.com - America's Largest Private Companies (http://www.forbes.com/2004/11/10/04privateland.html)

Example Usage of Private