Closely-Held vs Publicly-Held Business - Explained
Understanding the Distinction
Written by Jason Gordon
Updated at September 24th, 2021
- Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR
- Accounting, Taxation, and Reporting
- Professionalism & Career Development
-
Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
Government, Legal System, Administrative Law, & Constitutional Law Legal Disputes - Civil & Criminal Law Agency Law HR, Employment, Labor, & Discrimination Business Entities, Corporate Governance & Ownership Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law Real Estate, Personal, & Intellectual Property Commercial Law: Contract, Payments, Security Interests, & Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Insurance & Risk Management Immigration Law Environmental Protection Law Inheritance, Estates, and Trusts
- Business Management & Operations
- Economics, Finance, & Analytics
- Courses
Table of Contents
What is the difference between a closely-held company and a publicly-held company?What is a Closely-held Business?What is a Publicly-held Business?Discussion QuestionPractice QuestionAcademic ResearchWhat is the difference between a closely-held company and a publicly-held company?
Business entities are often categorized as either closely-held or publicly-held. These designations are not separate types of business entity; rather, they are classifications or defining characteristics of a given business. Generally, the distinction between the two classifications concerns the number of business owners and whether the equity ownership is sold on a public exchange.
Next Article: Most Common Forms of Business Entity Back to: BUSINESS ENTITIES
What is a Closely-held Business?
A closely-held business, as the name implies, is held by a smaller or more closely related group of individuals. It is often thought of as a smaller business, such as a mom-and-pop or family business. In truth, however, the closely-held status has little to do with the size or revenue of the business; rather, it simply means that the business is not widely owned by numerous, unrelated people. Another characteristic of the closely-held entity is that it is not traded on a public market.
- Example: My wife, three friends, and I own a business that specializes in dog training and boarding. We are a closely-held business because all of the ownership is held by a small group of closely-connect individuals.
What is a Publicly-held Business?
A publicly traded business is any business that is traded on a public exchange. This means that the company has gone through an initial public offering in which its shares were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequently listed for sale to the public at large. A publicly-held or publicly-traded company is generally held, or capable of being held, by a large number of unrelated people.
- Example: Elton's business is growing rapidly. He needs to bring in additional capital to expand operations. He decides to undertake a public offering and list shares of his company for sale on a public exchange. Once listed for sale to the public, Elton's business is now a publicly-traded company.
- Note: A closely-held business is a private business. It is unlikely that a business could or would undertake a public offering and remain closely held. The inverse, however, is not necessarily true. Private business entities are not necessarily closely held. Some private businesses are widely held by a large number of shareholders.
Related Topics
- What are Business Entities?
- Holistic (Detailed) Overview of Setting Up a Business Entity
-
What are the main types of business entity?
- What are the primary characteristics of business entities?
- What is Creation of a business entity?
- What is Maintenance of a business entity?
- What is Continuity of a business entity?
- What is the Ownership structure of a business entity?
- What is Control of a business entity?
- What is Personal liability of owners of a business entity?
- What is Compensation of business owners?
- What is Taxation of a business entity?
- What is Sales & Use tax?
- What are payroll and self-employment taxes?
Discussion Question
Some companies choose to remain closely-held instead of seeking a large and diverse set of owners. Other companies prefer to be widely held and often undertake a public offering as part of that effort. Can you think of reasons why a company would prefer to remain a closely-held private company versus a widely-held public company?
Practice Question
Can you identify a very large closely held company that does business across the United States? Can you identify why the company is considered, closely-held.
- Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., is a closely-held company that does business across the US. It is considered to be closely held, as there are only a few owners, most of whom are biologically related.