Private company | Public company | |
Meaning | It is possible for a privately held company to raise capital from a small group of individuals who are prepared to purchase shares in the company in secrecy. | The public at large can purchase enrolled shares in a public organization. |
Regulation to follow | Businesses that are privately held are exempt from government regulations until they exceed $10 million in assets and have more than 500 investors or shareholders. | When it comes to public organizations, the government has a ton of rules and regulations that must be followed. |
Advantage | A privately traded or exchanged company’s main perk is that it is exempt from paying its investors their dues and from disclosing any information. | A public company’s ability to sell more shares and profit from market conditions is its primary advantage. |
Size of the firm | Large corporations can also be privately held and traded. There is zero truth to the idea that a privately held business is a smaller, less substantial enterprise. | Massive organizations, public corporations are. |
Funds and their sources | There are not many private financial backers or investors that privately held organizations can draw upon as a source of assets. | Selling bonds and shares is how public corporations get their assets or funds. |
Traded in | A small group of individuals or families who have pooled their resources to invest in a company do so through the ownership of its shares. | Stock exchanges are places where the shares of publicly traded companies can be bought and sold. |